CoA gives two-week extension, tells state units to complete elections by Sept 28

The committee, headed by Vinod Rai, had earlier set September 14 as the deadline for the state units to complete their elections or lose voting rights at the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting.

The CoA, headed by Vinod Rai (in pic), wants the state associations to conduct their elections by September 28.

 

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has decided to extend the deadline for the state associations to conduct their elections.

The committee, headed by Vinod Rai, had earlier set September 14 as the deadline for the state units to complete their elections or lose voting rights at the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). But after a meeting at the BCCI headquarters on Friday, the panel set a new deadline on September 28.

With the BCCI election scheduled to be held on October 22, the notice for the AGM has to be issued by September 30 — 21 days prior to the date. And keeping that in mind, the associations need to send the names of their representatives to the BCCI  on September 28.

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Sportstar understands that some of the high-profile associations like Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are yet to send their amended constitutions to the CoA for approval. That is the first step in a bid to be eligible to hold elections. Some of the associations had even expressed their inability to get things done by the September 14 deadline.

The associations — who have not submitted their amended constitutions for approval or haven’t appointed an electoral officer for conducting the elections — have been asked to complete the process by September 12.

“The CoA will neither take cognizance of any request for extension of time from state associations or their electoral officers who do not complete all of (the provisions) before the deadline of 12th September nor entertain any request to vet the constitution or amended version thereof submitted beyond the said deadline,” the CoA said.

Some of the top officials in the board, who are aware of the development, told this publication that the CoA decided to extend the deadline as some of the state units requested for more time. “The main target is to conduct the BCCI elections on October 22. For that, if some associations have some delays, we had to consider their cases. It will only be for genuine associations,” the official said.

The CoA will meet again in New Delhi on September 13 to take stock of things. “By then, we will get a clearer picture and hopefully, the process of issuing notice for the AGM can begin then,” the official said.