Bhanot elected IOA secretary-general; Chautala president

Lalit Bhanot, who was jailed for 11 months for his alleged role in the Commonwealth Games corruption case, was elected secretary-general of the Indian Olympic Association on Friday.

With no opponent in the fray, after Randhir Singh and others withdrew their candidature, Abhay Singh Chautala will take over as president.

Bhanot, who was jailed with former IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, was elected unopposed despite serious objections from the International Olympic Committee.

According to the IOC Ethics Commission, officials like Kalmadi, Bhanot and V K Verma, who all were jailed in connection with the Commonwealth Games corruption scam, cannot be part of the Olympic movement.

The IOA polls were scheduled for December 5, but with Randhir having withdrawn from the presidential race, Chautala's election was a formality.

The IOC had made it clear that it will propose suspension of the IOA at its Executive Board Meeting early next month if the elections are held under the government's Sports Code and not the IOC Charter.

Bhanot was the only candidate for the post after Volleyball Federation of India secretary-general K Murugan and Judo Federation of India general secretary Mukesh Kumar decided to withdraw their nominations.

Virendra Nanavati of the Swimming Federation of India will become senior vice-president as there is no other candidate for the post.

Both Chautala and Bhanot have court cases pending against them. While the former was charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly "illegally" awarding the contract to install the Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 to Swiss Timing, Chautala was charged by a court in an illegal assets case.