New team elected unopposed at Chandigarh Golf Club

Perhaps for the fourth time in the history of the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC), there will be no voting to elect the new house as the president and 11-member executive committee has been picked unopposed.

On the last day of the nomination withdrawals, three of the 14 interested contenders pulled out of the race and made room for the new 11-member committee to approve no voting this year. Meanwhile, the official announced that the unopposed Chandigarh Golf Club house would assume office in the coming days.

Earlier, Ravibir Singh Grewal turned out to be the only contender for the post of president. The new executive member included GS Kochhar, Harjinder Singh Kang, Pratap Hoon, Gursimran Singh Sibia, Raman Abrol, Raman Singh Gill, Sanjeev Verma, Capt Mohanbir Singh, Zorawar Singh, Gursimrat Singh Jawandha and Gupreet Singh Baskshi. As many as seven members from the last 11-member executive committee have found their place in the new house. Kochhar, Kang, Hoon, Sibia and Gill are the new faces for this term.

Last year, the committee included Sibia (652 votes), Bakshi (598 votes), Verma (575), Jawandha (558 votes), SPS Ghai (555 votes), Rajesh Agnish (551 votes), Vijay Wadhawan (521 votes), Kang (510 votes) and Abrol (504 votes), Kulbir Singh Brar (687 votes), Maj Rajinder Singh Virk (677 votes) and Rohit Singh Dagar (673 votes).

Grewal elected unopposed for second time

It’s for the second time after 2021 that Grewal has been picked for the top post unanimously. In the last elections, he defeated four-time former president Birinder Singh Gill by 401 votes. While Grewal got 790 votes, Gill bagged 389. Grewal will be heading the club for the fourth time as its 31st president. Earlier, he held the post in 2017-18, then in 2021 and last year.

An alumnus of the Doon School and grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Gurnam Singh, Grewal (60) is a famous name in the golfing fraternity. “I am sure the club will continue achieving new heights. We are looking for a good golfing year ahead and will continue to work together for another year,” said Grewal.

Last year, the club hosted Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) events and also hosted the IGU Amateurs Golf Tournament after a gap of 15 years. “We have successfully hosted some major events and will continue to do so. In order to promote junior golf and caddies programme, we are also working to make some more additions. We are already in talks with the Administration to resolve all litigation matters and hopefully we will get those settled with the efforts of the Chandigarh Administration,” added Grewal.

Last year, the Administration had issued various show-cause notices to the club for unauthorised constructions on about 19,000 sq ft, including extension of the dining facility among others. The matter was put on notice by the officials of the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator office.

Last year on December 29, the Tribune had exclusively reported about no voting for choosing the new CGC house this year. It was also reported that the new 11-member executive committee will have some new faces. As per the practice, the elected president picks the 11-member committee in case of no voting.

Recently, the CGC had announced that the elections would be held on January 25 and the results was to be declared the next day. The CGC has nearly 1,800 registered members. As per the election notification this year, the filing of nominations started on January 3 and continued till January 9. The scrutiny was held on January 10 and the withdrawal of nominations was done today.