Agartala: After high drama coupled with political and legal logjams, Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) on Thursday got its new Apex council elected with a thumping mandate.
President of the outgoing TCA apex council Tapan Lodh was re-elected to the post. He defeated Amit Rakshit, incumbent general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Tripura unit.
Amid tight security, the poll process was started in the morning. The results were declared in the evening after counting the valid votes, an official assigned to the election process informed EastMojo.
Polls were conducted for three positions including president, Treasurer, and council member as candidates who filed their papers for the rest of the posts were declared victorious in the absence of challengers.
Speaking to media persons after the poll results, newly elected president Tapan Lodh said, “Among the 30 elite voters, 28 voters cast their votes during the poll process. All the votes were found to be valid as per the electoral norms. Out of 28 votes, our panel swept the polls with 23 votes in our favour. On the other hand, the rival panel contested in three posts bagging only five votes.”
BJP State General Secretary who contested the polls for the post of president faced an unexpected drubbing. “I don’t carry a weight behind my back. I am a sports enthusiast and only that is the backdrop due to which I have contested the elections. Some of the voters were feeling uneasy about coming here which is why they came with me,” he said.
Rakshit was flanked by former treasurer Jay Lal Das and another contestant.
On being asked about the results, he said, “The present TCA president possibly has good reach and understanding about cricket which is why he might get a second chance. This is a democratic process and we all should see things as it is. I don’t have anything more to say than that.”
It is worthy to mention here that the untimely elections were conducted followed by an order of the Tripura High Court after allegations of large-scale corruption surfaced against the outgoing committee.
Newly elected Secretary Subrata Dey said, “Our entire campaign was against the corrupt people who had been trying to tarnish the image of Tripura Cricket Association. A SIT inquiry was conducted and FIRs were lodged with the crime branch unit of Tripura police. We hope the investigation will continue on the right track and exemplary punishment will follow.”
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When questioned what would be priority tasks of the new committee, president Lodh said, “We have a lot of important tasks in front of us. The new international stadium needs to be made operational as soon as possible. More tournaments are required to be conducted in the subdivision levels to ramp up the talent hunt exercise.”
Lodh also lauded the achievements of both male and female state Ranji teams in the domestic circuit cricket. “Both the teams have drawn the attention of the whole country. This should continue. We have to take Tripura cricket to such a stage that all the states admire our work,” he added.
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