Elections in trouble after Mumbai HC directive

Age Correspondent Mumbai Jan. 28: Hockey India elections face yet another setback after the Mumbai high court, on Thursday, directed the interim body to consider affiliation applications of all three units in the state — Mumbai, Vidarbha and Maharashtra — in six weeks time before going to the polls.

“The division bench has ruled that until they consider the applications, HI cannot conduct the elections,” MHA’s advocate Rakesh Kumar said. The latest development comes after the Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) disaffiliated MHA headed by Victor Ellis, on Wednesday, saying it had received written complaints against the faction from different quarters.

According to MOA secretary Babasaheb Landge, the affiliation to the Ellis-led MHA was given on a temporary basis and its executive committee decided to withdraw the recognition after it had received complaints from other stakeholders in the state, including Mumbai and VHA. All the three units were members of the suspended Indian Hockey Federation.

Reacting to the situation Ellis said, “We have World Cup in attendance of the six weeks time given by the court. I personally feel that the elections should be conducted either before the World Cup or after it. “We should first give more importance to hockey. “But in recent times we are worried about too many other things and have got into legal battles instead of concentrating on the game