By IANS,
New Delhi: It normally attracts attention every year and this year too; as the high-profile and elite Gymkhana Club gears up for its presidential elections, the politics of this exclusive club has spilled into the public domain.
However, this time around, it’s attracting attention for what is being described as a ‘breach of convention’. The custom followed since 1950 is that the presidentship of the club is rotated between civil and defence services every two years, though each presidential term is for a year.
The contestants for the top post this time are its current president, Air Marshal (retd) P.S. Ahluwalia, who represents the defence services, and Prakash Chandra, director general, International Taxation, representing the civil services. Ahluwalia, who had also contested the election in 2007 against the then serving Army Chief J.J. Singh, only to bow out just before the election, still remains popular among most members of the club.
Those in favour of Ahluwalia’s re-election argue that the practice has been breached in the past. But civil services members are closing ranks and mounting a fierce campaign to see that Chandra gets elected. How it will play out will be known when voting happens next week.