A close contest on the cards

All set for VDCA elections

File Photo of D.V. Subba Rao

Election of the office-bearers of Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) has gained a lot of attention as two groups in the association are going all out to make a clean sweep of the 13 posts in the elections to be held at a star hotel here on Friday. In the last elections held in 2008 August, there was a contest for the first time and the players and sports administrators kept the politicians at the bay.

Election of office-bearers of Andhra Cricket Association, for which polling was held on Wednesday, had a direct effect on the VDCA elections.

‘Not eligible'

One group felt its present president D.V. Subba Rao had not supported it in the ACA elections and aligned himself with the rival group led by the present secretary of ACA G. Gangaraju.

He was also not qualified to contest as per the rules of ACA. But Mr. Subba Rao, a former president of ACA, denied that he had ditched the local supporters and contested only to protect the interests of Visakhapatnam and the game of cricket.

A few days before the VDCA elections and just before the ACA elections, a very old club affiliated to ACA, the Visakhapatnam C.C. has removed its president A. Prasanna Kumar, a noted sports writer and commentator on the allegation that he had not supported the club's secretary and a senior official P.R. Narayanaswami.

Mr. Narayanaswami said at a press conference on Thursday that Prof. Prasanna Kumar had proposed the nomination of Mr. Subba Rao though the latter was not technically qualified to contest for the post of ACA president but at the same time refused to propose his (Mr. Narayanaswami's) nomination in the VDCA elections, because he questioned Mr. Subba Rao's eligibility for ACA elections.

The Election Officer did not allow his nominee to vote in ACA elections but allowed the one sent by Prof. Prasanna Kumar, he said.

Mr. Narayanaswami said he was actively associated with cricket for the last many decades but the two seniors “backstabbed” him and also alleged that Mr. Subba Rao had not been able to get VDCA's share from ACA for conducting ODIs.

VDCA office-bearers Mr. K. Parthasaradhi and Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju approached Mr. Subba Rao to contest for ACA presidentship on behalf of VDCA and assured him of getting unanimously elected if he could get a couple of posts for VDCA.

But Mr. Subba Rao decided to join the other group, he alleged.