First in Indian Cricket: Women state captains to have voice at BCCI Conclave
New Delhi: In a first, the Indian cricket board will be inviting all the state skippers of the women's teams at its 'Annual Domestic Captains and Coaches Conclave', making the event more inclusive.
The more than a decade old conclave is conducted at the end of every domestic season. Captains and Coaches of various Ranji Trophy teams give their feedback to the BCCI administration about the season that goes by. However, the women cricketers were not made a part of it in the previous editions.
During the May 17 conclave in Mumbai, the captains and coaches of the women's state teams will be joining their male counterparts in giving assessment of the just-concluded domestic season.
"Yes, this is the first time that domestic women's team captains and the chief coaches have been invited to the conclave. Their feedback is very important and we would like to know what they thought about the last season," BCCI GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim, who is also in charge of overall development of women's game, told PTI on Wednesday.
Karim, however, didn't wish to get into whether there will be discussions on how to broaden the talent pool in order to have a full-fledged women's IPL in near future.
"I would not like to comment on that but yes we need to get feedback from our women cricketers and coaches for the development of the game and how we can help to raise the quality of cricket at the domestic level," the former India wicketkeeper said.
It is expected that likes of Jhulan Goswami (Bengal), Mithali Raj (Railways), Jemimah Rodrigues (Mumbai) along with other domestic captains will be attending the conference.
As far as the men's conclave goes, the notable aspect up for discussion will be the feedback provided by the captains and coaches of the North Eastern states who joined the first class system last season.
It is expected that sub-standard umpiring across all formats and age groups (men and women) is also likely to come up for discussion during the meeting.
In all, the 2018-19 season featured 2024 domestic matches (men and women) across age-groups with 6471 registered players (men and women) taking part.
This was close to 1000 matches more than last year.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
