Roger Binny was chosen president by a thumping majority as the Karnataka State Cricket Association elections were conducted here on Thursday. The former India all-rounder polled 943 votes, finishing far ahead of his only rival, M.M. Harish (111). J. Abhiram was elected vice-president and Santosh Menon secretary as the Brijesh Patel-backed combine swept all 16 seats (five office-bearers and 11 Managing Committee members) with ease. Vinay Mruthyunjaya was elected treasurer, while retired international umpire Shavir Tarapore claimed the joint secretary’s post.
“I was confident of winning but I didn’t expect this margin of victory,” said a delighted Binny at the KSCA AGM Hall afterwards. “This was a great team effort. Our first priority is to upgrade our grounds in Alur, Hubballi and Belagavi to international standards. Our clubs have to be taken care of. We will carry on the good work of the previous committee.”
Peaceful affairADVERTISEMENT
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In contrast to the tempestuous events of 2013, this was a peaceful affair. Swatch Cricket, which emerged as an opponent to the Patel-supported group, failed to make much of a dent as the favourites triumphed. A total of 1069 of the 1976 eligible voters turned out on Thursday, among whom were the likes of Venkatesh Prasad, G.R. Viswanath, B.S. Chandrasekhar, and Rahul Dravid.
Of the 11 Managing Committee members, four had already been elected unopposed. Among the other victors on election day were Shantha Rangaswamy and former Karnataka wicket-keeper V.S. Thilak Naidu (institutional members, Bangalore zone).
In the morning, at the 82nd AGM, Brijesh Patel was nominated as the KSCA’s representative to the BCCI, a decision that was ratified by the new committee late in the evening. “We will be informing the COA and electoral officer of the BCCI (in Mumbai on Friday) that we have nominated Brijesh to attend, contest and vote in the BCCI AGM of October 23,” said Menon.
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Office-bearer results: President: Roger Binny 943 votes, M.M. Harish 111; Vice-president: J. Abhiram 885, Joseph Hoover 122, Siddalinga Swamy 37; Secretary: Santosh Menon 810, K.S. Raghuram 234; Joint secretary: Shavir Tarapore 810, Preeth S. Hegde 206; Treasurer: Vinay Mruthyunjaya 801, B.N. Madhukar 206, V.S. Venkatesh Gowda 34.
Elected Managing Committee members (winners only): Life Member category: N.S. Shanti Swarup, Vasudev N. Jaisingh. Institutional Member category: Bangalore: Kota S. Kodandaram, Shantha Rangaswamy, V.S. Thilak Naidu. Mangalore: Rathan Kumar. Raichur: Sudhindra Shinde. Mysore: S. Sudhakar Rai (unopposed). Shimoga: D.S. Arun (unopposed). Dharwad: Avinash Potdar (unopposed). Tumkur: K. Shashidhar (unopposed).