Archery elections on Jan 18, Munda front-runner

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 1

Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, is the early favourite to become the Archery Association of India (AAI) president. Returning Officer PK Tripathi has called for AAI elections here on January 18.

The last date of filing nominations is January 6. However, six state associations — Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana — will have no role in the elections after they failed to submit the registration certificate. In Telengana’s case, though, they failed to provide the approval of affiliation by the AAI general council.

In all, 25 associations have been cleared to take part in the election process. The Delhi High Court appointed Tripathi to hold fresh elections after two back-to-back controversial elections that forced World Archery to suspend the Indian body. Along with the posts of president, secretary general and treasurer, elections will be held for one senior vice-president, eight vice-presidents and seven joint secretaries.

Rao vs Munda

BVP Rao was elected as the new president in the elections held on December 2018. But the Supreme Court set aside the election as the constitution approved by the then administrator, Dr SY Quraishi, was not as per the National Sports Code of India (NSDCI), 2011.

Then, in June 2019, Munda and Rao were elected as presidents in two separate elections that were held simultaneously in New Delhi and Chandigarh. Munda was supported by 20 state associations, while 10 state bodies went to Chandigarh in support of Rao. World Archery had sent Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol as its mediator to try and get both the factions to agree to a single election. The AAI was subsequently suspended by World Archery in August last year.