By IANS,
New Delhi : During a crucial meeting here Monday, Hockey India (HI) would face a tough task of granting affiliations to the remaining states so that elections can be held on time before next month’s World Cup.
HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo will meet International Hockey Federation vice-president (FIH) Antonio Van Ondarza, who is also the FIH-appointed observer for the election.
Both the FIH and the sports ministry are following the developments in HI very closely. The ministry has laid down guidelines for HI elections.
HI had failed to issue the mandatory 21-day notice for the election to be conducted on Jan 29. But Mattoo insisted that the election will be held a day or two later than the announced date.
“We will discuss all the issues with the FIH observer tomorrow and hopefully something positive will come out,” Mattoo said.
“The government has issued new guidelines for the election. So that will also be discussed. We are also going to discuss the affiliation issues,” he said.
Among other things, Mattoo will have to appoint an independent returning officer for the elections.
As per the ministry guideline, the returning officer should in no way be connected with HI or Indian Olympic Association and should preferably be a retired high court/district court judge.
The guidelines also say that the composition of the electoral college must be finalised immediately and not later than January 15.
The ministry has also said once the election process is set into motion, the present office-bearers of HI should have no role in the conduct of the poll. This would also apply to the IOA officials because the foundation board of HI was constituted by the IOA.
It was also said that elections to all posts of office-bearers must be held simultaneously.
“Nobody wants to delay the election. I am sure that we will soon come out with a date for election,” Mattoo said.
The affiliation process of HI has come under the scanner over the past few days with Hockey Punjab (HP) crying foul for not being given recognition. Delhi, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala are the other states which are yet to get the affiliation.
HI raised doubts over the election of HP and had asked for some clarification.
“We have replied to their queries and we are waiting for HI’s response. We are keenly following the development,” said HP secretary general and former India captain Pargat Singh.