Indian Olympic Association to set poll process rolling

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will set the ball rolling for its election next month with the apex sports body expected to announce the details of the poll process in its Special General Body Meeting in New Delhi, on Thursday.

The IOA, which is set for a change of guard at the top after 16 years, is expected to announce the nitty-gritty of the poll process like the date of nomination, scrutiny and withdrawal of candidates as well as appointment of returning officer for the elections on November 25.

The special General Body Meeting (GBM) will also take a decision on which new federations would be given affiliation to the IOA to ensure voting right majority of National Sports Federations whose disciplines are included in Olympic Games in the electoral college, as directed by its international parent body.

In its Executive Committee meeting on September 24, the IOA had called the special GBM to discuss on the affiliation of federations after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) directed that the NSFs whose disciplines are included in Olympic Games should have voting right majority in the electoral college.

The Executive Committee had also authorised the IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra to appoint a panel to discuss the issue of affiliation of federations.

Under the IOA Constitution, the federations under Olympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games were given affiliation but the IOC's new rules state that all those federations whose sports are in Olympic programme should have the voting majority in the electoral college.

Malhotra had said that some federations have applied for affiliations and the special GBM will take a decision on the issue.

Another important issue which some members may raise on Thursday at the GBM could be on how to deal with the IOC's latest direction to immediately suspend its tainted chief Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma who had to undergo jail terms in connection with the Delhi Commonwealth Games corruption scandal.

The IOC's Ethics Commission had written to the IOA to immediately suspend the trio besides barring them from contesting the November 25 elections.

Kalmadi, who is technically still the IOA chief, has announced that he would not seek re-nomination for the top job but the IOA will have to answer its international parent body with which it has been having a war of words for some time.

In a series of exchange of letters, the IOC had put pressure on the IOA to act against Kalmadi but the national apex body had not obliged its parent body.

The announcement of the IOA election date had also come after the IOC threatened to report to the Executive Board of the world governing body.

A clearer picture on the IOC's insistence on the sending of an election observer is also expected to come tomorrow in the aftermath of Kalmadi's decision not to contest polls.

The IOC had said that it would send an election observer on account of the confusion surrounding the Kalmadi issue, a move that the IOA had vehemently objected. But now that Kalmadi has decided not to seek re-nomination, the IOA may ask its parent body not to send an election observer.