KOLKATA/RANCHI: The legacy of late IPS officer-turned cricket administrator Amitabh Choudhary is looming large over the election for the new managing committee of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is scheduled to take place here on Sunday.
Over 718 voters will exercise their franchise to pick the new JSCA president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, joint secretary, five committee members, four district representatives and a school, club or institution representative on Sunday. Votes will be cast in ballot papers from 9 am to 1 pm. N N Pandey, former cabinet secretary in the state govt, has been appointed as the election officer.
Ajay Nath Shahdeo, a Congress functionary who previously served as the JSCA vice-president while Choudhary was the president, is in the race for the president's post. He is facing off against S K Behara, a Jamshedpur-based businessman, who has been a district representative and close associate of Choudhary.
The Shahdeo camp has spiced up the election by fielding two former Indian cricketers, Saurabh Tiwary and Shehbaz Nadeem, as secretary and joint secretary candidates. "If elected, Tiwary and Nadeem would become the first-ever former international cricketers to hold office in the JSCA," Shahdeo said.
The election took an interesting turn when Abhishek, Choudhary's son, wrote a letter to Pandey, objecting to the Behara camp using the slogan ‘Amitabh Ke Log (People of Amitabh)' in their manifesto on Friday. In his letter, Abhishek accused four candidates of the Behara group of trespassing, encroaching and selling off Choudhary's properties at Rajrappa in Ramgarh, Patna and Madhubani in Bihar. He also filed an FIR against one of them with the cyber police station for threatening him and his sister, Niyati, Abhishek claimed in his letter.
Making matters more interesting is the involvement of a senior IPS officer, who is posted in Ranchi and JSCA member for many years. The officer worked behind the scenes to pitch Behara. "He is a close friend of Choudhary who does not want the JSCA to be governed by office bearers with political inclinations," a source close to Behara said. The officer, however, refused to comment when contacted.
While candidates in Behara's group said the charges against some of their candidates were yet to be proven in court, Behara said he was determined to carry Choudhary's legacy forward. "The JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi has given cricket a big boost in Jharkhand, but we need to create infrastructure in districts so that we can bring out players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi (the IPL sensation from Bihar) from our state, too," Behara told TOI.
"I have been in JSCA and worked with Choudhary. His death was a big loss to state cricket. But we will carry forward his legacy," Shahdeo told TOI on election eve.
Over 718 voters will exercise their franchise to pick the new JSCA president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, joint secretary, five committee members, four district representatives and a school, club or institution representative on Sunday. Votes will be cast in ballot papers from 9 am to 1 pm. N N Pandey, former cabinet secretary in the state govt, has been appointed as the election officer.
Ajay Nath Shahdeo, a Congress functionary who previously served as the JSCA vice-president while Choudhary was the president, is in the race for the president's post. He is facing off against S K Behara, a Jamshedpur-based businessman, who has been a district representative and close associate of Choudhary.
The Shahdeo camp has spiced up the election by fielding two former Indian cricketers, Saurabh Tiwary and Shehbaz Nadeem, as secretary and joint secretary candidates. "If elected, Tiwary and Nadeem would become the first-ever former international cricketers to hold office in the JSCA," Shahdeo said.
The election took an interesting turn when Abhishek, Choudhary's son, wrote a letter to Pandey, objecting to the Behara camp using the slogan ‘Amitabh Ke Log (People of Amitabh)' in their manifesto on Friday. In his letter, Abhishek accused four candidates of the Behara group of trespassing, encroaching and selling off Choudhary's properties at Rajrappa in Ramgarh, Patna and Madhubani in Bihar. He also filed an FIR against one of them with the cyber police station for threatening him and his sister, Niyati, Abhishek claimed in his letter.
Making matters more interesting is the involvement of a senior IPS officer, who is posted in Ranchi and JSCA member for many years. The officer worked behind the scenes to pitch Behara. "He is a close friend of Choudhary who does not want the JSCA to be governed by office bearers with political inclinations," a source close to Behara said. The officer, however, refused to comment when contacted.
While candidates in Behara's group said the charges against some of their candidates were yet to be proven in court, Behara said he was determined to carry Choudhary's legacy forward. "The JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi has given cricket a big boost in Jharkhand, but we need to create infrastructure in districts so that we can bring out players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi (the IPL sensation from Bihar) from our state, too," Behara told TOI.
"I have been in JSCA and worked with Choudhary. His death was a big loss to state cricket. But we will carry forward his legacy," Shahdeo told TOI on election eve.
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