UPCA lobbies active amidst allegations of mismanagement
LUCKNOW : Is the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) on the verge of a split, or, will the saga of a few other state associations be repeated here: warring factions battling for supremacy, hampering the functioning of the body? These are the questions topmost in the mind as different “lobbies” flex muscles against each other.
A faction led by Apex Council member Rakesh Mishra wants to “correct the system” within the cricketing body, while the other faction doesn’t wish to relinquish power, claiming to have done “great” with the present system functioning fine.
Certainly, not good signs for the UPCA, which is set to witness ‘real elections’ for the first time in 42 years (since 1979), if a settlement between the warring factions is not reached before the annual general meeting, slated to be held soon.
Mishra and Co say that it’s time to start afresh and bring the “right people” in, instead of having “puppets” only. Insiders say that nothing was wrong in the cricket body, but in the last six years and in the presence of a paid administrative official at its headquarters in Kanpur, “the rot” set in. It brought much disrepute,
incurred the wrath of a judicial officer, allegations of financial bungling – in the form of land purchase in the name of an international stadium, and also a series of allegations about “money-making” in the selection process of different teams.
“If things were handled by these officials properly, there was no question of any disrepute to the cricketing body. But the key person at the UPCA official headquarters didn’t discharge his duties and that’s the reason why so much confusion is being created again and again,” a senior UPCA official said on condition of anonymity.
He also believed that UPCA already has a very “sketchy” image in the circuit and people responsible for running the show should act responsibly and bring adequate changes for the betterment of the body and the sport.
“A few aides of one the top bosses are pulling the strings from behind the curtains and poke their nose in the selection process of all the teams. In the last few years, many an outsider, including cricketers from neighbouring states like Delhi and Haryana sneaked into the state teams to play the domestic leagues. This is just ruining the opportunities of UP cricketers,” he added.
Mishra and Co wanted to give an official turn to their campaign against the present system and called the Special Meeting of the Apex Council here in Lucknow last week with the support of nine members in a group of 17, excluding the president and secretaries as both the posts are lying vacant. But acting president, Prem Kumar Gupta, while terming the meeting illegal and infectious, wrote to them, detailing the requirements of the law of the sporting body.
However, Mishra and Co agreed to suspend the meeting as soon as they got Gupta’s letter and accordingly issued the seven-day notice for the next meeting, now with the support of eight members of the Apex Council.
The members ie Rakesh Mishra, Manoj Pundir, Shyam Babu, Asad Ahmad, Kamal Chawla, Abhishek Shukla, CA Javed and Ashok Bombi in a signed letter addressed to UPCA’s joint secretary (acting secretary) have called a fresh meeting on October 24.
“The meeting has been called in accordance with the law which requires more than 1/3rd of the councillors to call such a meeting. With an eight-member strength that requirement is met and duly complied with,” the letter read. The agenda of the meeting includes, a decision on the date of the annual general meeting, appointment of an electoral officer, appointment of an ombudsman-cum-ethics officer, update, review and confirm the list of valid number of life members, selection process to hire chief executive officer, etc.
People within the UPCA believe that the “mudslinging” will continue till a decision about the date of the AGM is reached.
However, it is also believed that before that happens, one of the directors of the UPCA and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla will surely have a solution to this crisis. “Shukla rescued the UPCA from its worst crisis in 2005 when one of the political heavyweights then was about to take over the cricket body, and this time too, he will sort out the crisis,” said a veteran life-member of the UPCA on condition of anonymity.
“Certainly, there are many loopholes in the present system of the UPCA and things aren’t well, and it’s time that the powers that be within the association adopt professionalism and run the show with actual transparency,” he added.