Cricket Board elections may be delayed as state units go slow

With as many as 20 state associations yet to fully adopt the new constitution, the timeline set by the Committee of Administrators on May 5 is unlikely to be adhered to.

The logjam in the cricket Board’s administrative set-up is expected to continue for some more time as there’s serious doubt whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elections will be held on schedule, on October 22. With as many as 20 state associations yet to fully adopt the new constitution, the timeline set by the Committee of Administrators on May 5 is unlikely to be adhered to.

BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.(Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

As per the status report put up on the BCCI website, as on August 13, out of a total 38 less than half have got the all clear from CoA to be eligible to vote in the Board elections—including three units who have held elections after adopting the new constitution.

The criteria for voting rights include constitution compliance and the appointment of the electoral officer. According to the CoA report, elections have already been held in Assam, Delhi and Vidarbha associations. The three units under the central government, Indian Universities, Services and Railways, get automatic voting rights. They don’t require constitution approval as they don’t have association elections.

Gloomy picture

The picture is gloomy otherwise as out of the remaining 31, only nine have got their statute approved by CoA and appointed electoral officers. Two others have got their constitution approved, but not got an electoral officer appointed. That still leaves 20 states without any compliance.

The units that have got CoA’s confirmation for constitution compliance and have appointed an electoral officer are Himachal, Andhra, Pondicherry, Hyderabad, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim.

Twenty state units have some issue or other to sort out before CoA give clearance to hold state elections and vote in the BCCI election. Nine of them are listed by CoA under ‘awaiting registered constitution’ and the others under ‘awaiting amended constitution’. For appointing an electoral officer for state elections, 13 have either sought time or are yet to make the appointment. When CoA first put out the list, it mentioned that Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Rajasthan had appointed electoral officers. But, the list of electoral officers for the units were removed when asked whether an electoral officer can be appointed if an association is yet to adopt the new constitution.

Vidarbha was among the first to adopt the constitution and hold elections, but there are doubts whether they are fully compliant.

Most state units have gone to the Supreme Court for the relaxation of some clauses in the constitution. Mumbai has petitioned the court to excuse cricketers from coming under conflict of interest so they can be included in its committees.

The state associations held a meeting this month in Delhi and decided to wait for the Supreme Court verdict. However, the hearing scheduled for August 8 did not take place.

It raises questions whether BCCI elections can be held on schedule. For a meaningful election at least 80 per cent of the members should be eligible to vote. As of now, it appears the CoA will continue to run BCCI till all voting members fall in line.

Speaking to the media after Tuesday’s CoA meeting, Lt Gen (retd) Ravi Thodge said: “They (state units) are all coming on board. There will be minor delays. There is ample time. I don’t see such a great difficulty in getting it done. … The intention is to hold the elections around the given date (October 22).”

The tournaments, however, are unlikely to be affected. The domestic tournaments are expected to be held on schedule and all processes with regards to the national team have are in place.

It appears the CoA anticipated this delay and hence began the coach selection process without waiting for the Board AGM.