BCCI AGM on September 29 at Bengaluru; no secretary election, new NCA to be inaugurated
Bengaluru (PTI): The BCCI’s 93rd Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) will take place here on September 29, but it is unlikely that the election of the new board secretary will take place at the high-profile summit.
However, the AGM will coincide with the inauguration of the state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy (NCA) centre in the outskirts as all the board members will be present in the city.
Currently, the NCA functions at the M Chinnaswamy stadium premises since its inception over two decades back.
While the new BCCI secretary will not be elected at the AGM, the date for the Special General Meeting (SGM) for that purpose could be fixed here.
The appointment of a new secretary was made mandatory after the incumbent Jay Shah was elected unanimously as the ICC Chairman.
However, Shah will not abdicate his present role as the BCCI secretary at the AGM because he has to assume the new office only from December 1.
The other important point in the meeting’s 18-point agenda, which has been sent to all the state associations, is the appointment of BCCI’s representative to the ICC meetings, as Shah will no longer be available for that role.
The name of current BCCI president Roger Binny might be discussed for the board’s representative to the ICC, or it could fall on the incoming secretary.
But at 69, Binny does not have age on his side with 70 being the upper ceiling to be in administration.
Other than those two pressing matters, the AGM will also see the induction of two representatives of the general body in the IPL Governing Council and the induction of one representative from the Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA) in the IPL Governing Council.
The AGM will also include some regular board activities such as ratification of the annual budget for 2024-25 and the appointment of Ombudsman and Ethics Officer.
The meeting will appoint a Cricket Committee and Standing Committee as per the BCCI Constitution, along with the formation of a new Umpires Committee under Rule 27.
The AGM will also consider the 'Report of the Internal Committee of BCCI formed under Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy', besides approving rules formed by the Apex Council pertaining to domestic cricket.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
