Oudh Gymkhana Club elections today
LUCKNOW: Lavish parties, glossy hand-outs, bombardment of messages and frantic phone calls are just some of the highlights of this year’s Oudh Gymkhana Club elections, slated for Sunday.
Established in 1933, the club has 1,362 members, out of which many reside outstation. Usually 900 to 1,000 members cast their votes every two years to elect the club’s new office bearers.
This time, two teams -- one led by the current president Suresh Kumar Agarwal and the other by former president Gurnam Singh -- are fielding candidates.
The first team, under the chairmanship of Jagdish Agawal, fields Suresh Kumar Agarwal for the president’s post, Ashok Kumar Agarwal ‘Kuttan’ for the secretary’s post, Ranjeet Singh for the vice-president’s post, Ajay Agarwal for the treasurer’s post and Gautam Puri for the joint secretary’s post.
The other team, under the chairmanship of Virendra Tandon, fields Gurnam Singh for the president’s post, Pradeep Agarwal for the secretary’s post, Suresh Agarwal ‘Meghdoot’ for the vice-president’s post, Rakesh Gupta for the joint secretary’s post and OP Singh for the treasurer’s post.
The club will also elect its new tennis secretary, billiard secretary and four committee members on the day.
Sitting secretary Ashok Agarwal will be elected unopposed as his opponent Pradeep Agarwal was disqualified by the seven-member election committee headed by Ashish Agarwal of Umrao Cinema. “As my opponent seconded his candidature through an outstation member, which is not allowed as per the club’s by-laws, the committee disqualified him,” said Ashok Agarwal.
Neeraj Srivastava, a candidate for the committee’s membership, was also disqualified for being an outstation member. He belonged to Gurnam Singh’s camp.
A club member since 1970, Gurnam Singh has served as president for two terms, each spanning nine years (1979-88 and 1990-98). “I have been requested by the members to contest elections at the age of 77 and take over this club marred by controversies. I want to bring in order, provide more facilities for members’ kids and restrict temporary members,” he said.
Suresh Agarwal said his team was seeking votes on the basis of the development work done in the past two years. “A new fine dining restaurant, renovation of the lobby and the restaurant, a plush card room, a bar and a world-class gym are some of the things we achieved during our term. Now, we want to give the club a swimming pool, and work out a final solution towards the club’s lease,” he said.
Agarwal’s team organised a lavish party for club members at the Carton Hotel on Friday night, while Gurnam Singh’s team hosted a similar party on Saturday.
Club members said they were excited for Sunday. “Eventually, everyone is part of the club family. We want the club’s development and better facilities. Today, it may look like two parties, but after elections, it will be one team. May the best ones win,” said businessman and member Prabhu Jalan.
To recall, this year’s election has been marred by allegations and counter allegations on social media.
Both teams have gone all out to woo members, taking potshots at each other and citing FIRs and court cases against members of the opposite camp. It started with treasurer Navin Arora’s sacking.