Hectic lobbying begins as hockey elections enter decisive phase

NEW DELHI: Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose name was prominent among those being talked about for the post of Hockey India’s president, is out of the race. The Hockey Punjab president’s name was not sent by his state unit to HI as their authorised representatives for the elections, putting an end to speculation that the politician could enter the fray as a presidential candidate.

Hockey Punjab secretary Pargat Singh told TOI: “He (Badal) was never in the fray. The speculation started because of his role in taking on HI on the affiliation issue.”

There was also talk in hockey circles that Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi’s name was not in the list of representatives sent by state units. However, this could not be confirmed.

HI, which had set January 22 as the last day to receive the names, is expected to make the names public on Friday, a day after which the candidates can file nominations.

There was hectic lobbying all through the day over who could be a consensus candidate. Sources said that efforts were on to convince Sahara India’s Subrata Roy to say yes to lead Hockey India. However, sources said that Roy has not committed despite being pursued by several state units.

There was also talk that a group loyal to former president of the erstwhile Indian Hockey Federation, KPS Gill, was trying to garner support in favour of the retired top cop. Among the other prominent names doing the rounds for the post of president was that of Vidya Stokes, who is now the president of the ad-hoc body of HI. Amidst all this hectic activity, there’s was an interesting aspect which threatened to spoil the mood before the polls – the sports ministry’s tough stand on the appointment of the returning officer.

The sports ministry has declined to accept senior Indian Olympic Association (IOA) official and Wrestling Federation of India president GS Mander as the returning officer and with the nomination process starting on Saturday it would be interesting to see who the potential candidates will submit their papers to. If the interim body goes ahead with Mander, it would not be acceptable to the sports ministry.