HCA elections, a knotty affair

Confusion continued to prevail on Friday ahead the Hyderabad Cricket Association elections scheduled for January 17 as the Returning Officer extended date for withdrawal/ putting up the valid list of nominations for the second day running thanks to piling queries from members who sought clarity on intricate issues.

The last date for withdrawal of nominations was January 12 as per the poll notification with the eligible list of candidates post scrutiny due on Friday noon. However, mounting work seems to have forced the RO to postpone it by a day. “We have been told that the final list would now be out on Saturday,” a HCA official said.

Members are also anxious about the valid voters list that will help strategise campaigns with just three days left for polls that seem shrouded in uncertainty.

Ascertaining eligibility of candidates is a big ask for the RO. After Mohammad Azharuddin, another heavyweight and presidential candidate faces a bump.

On Friday, a complaint was lodged with the Returning Officer against the nomination of G. Vivekanand, Advisor to Telangana government (the rank of a Cabinet minister), contending that he falls under the ambit of government servant by virtue of drawing salary from the State government. Being “a minister or government servant” is one of the criteria for disqualification as per Supreme Court order.

Be that as it may, names of N. Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub, M. V. Narasimha Rao, VVS Laxman and Noel David were submitted to the Returning Officer as members (which gives them voting rights) on the basis of Justice Lodha Committee recommendations which says “The Association shall grant automatic membership to former international players hailing from the State.”

However, Shivlal and Arshad are disqualified from contesting elections for having served more than nine cumulative years as office bearers in the HCA, as per Supreme Court order.

The HCA elections are turning out to be a knotty affair, and we haven’t even got to the lists yet!