It is clear that Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association (APOA) is a divided house and two elections — one at Tirupati on April 4 and the other at Hyderabad on April 19 — by the warring groups are in the offing.
According to reliable sources, the outcome of the polls is going create a new twist to the tale as the issue is likely to go to the Hyderabad High Court. The vanquished, which ever group may be, is planning to approach the court challenging the winner thus creating a stalemate.
“The panel which gets the support of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will be declared as the authentic APOA, entitling it functioning as per the norms. The other group will be left with no option but to approach the court,” said a senior sports administrator in anonymity.
Sources said that IOA has already made up its mind to send its emissary Mr. K. Murugan, a volleyball administrator, to the Tirupati meeting to accord the affiliation. If that happens, the Lagadapati group will not get the support of the IOA and it would obviously approach the court.
“If Lagadapati group approaches the court, we will become the defendant and indirectly the IOA will come into picture. Then we will get a stay on the case which will pave the way for formation of an ad hoc committee by the IOA. In such case the ad hoc committee will have all its members from the Kodandaramaiah group,” said a senior lawyer-cum- sports administrator.
Meanwhile, some sports administrators are searching for a way out to bring truce between the warring groups but with the elections acquiring political overtones, the effort appears to be a futile one.
In fact the Olympic association elections is a fight between Telugu Desam and Congress with one group having the support of former Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal and the other led by Andhra Pradesh Volleyball Association president Kodandaramaiah, having the tacit support of Telugu Desam leaders.
The rumour mills are agog that several sports administrators who attended the meeting, organised by Lagadapati camp in Vijayawada on March 29 at Hotel Fortune Murlai Park, are likely proceed to Tirupati to take part in the elections.
