A.K. Joti, Electoral Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has said the final list of candidates for the secretary and treasurer’s posts in the by-election will be announced on January 7 at 5 pm. The nomination window for the candidates is slated for January 3 and 4.
IANS had previously reported that in a notice issued to state associations on Saturday afternoon, joint secretary Devajit Saikia said the SGM will be held at 12 noon on January 12 at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai to elect a new secretary and treasurer.
Incidentally, Saikia is serving as acting secretary, after BCCI president Roger Binny exercised his special powers granted in the constitution. Article 7.2 (d) in the BCCI constitution goes as “The President shall, in the event of a vacancy, or indisposition of an office-bearer, delegate the functions to another Office-Bearer until the vacancy is duly filled up, or the indisposition ceases.”
The elections for twin vacancies have come up in the BCCI after Jay Shah left the secretary’s post to take charge as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month. Later, treasurer Ashish Shelar stepped down from his role in the BCCI after he was included as a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra state government.
As per the notice for by-election issued by Joti on Saturday evening, the scrutiny of the nominations will be done on January 6 from 11 am to 1 pm. Withdrawal of nominations can be done on January 7 from 11 am to 2 pm. The final list of candidates will be announced at 5 pm on the same day. The elections will be held on January 12 and will be followed by the announcement of results on the same day.
In the nomination form, a person’s candidature is deemed to be valid if the person: has not attained the age of 70 years, has not been a Minister or a Government Servant, and has not been convicted by a Court of Law for commission of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment. The candidate has also been asked to specify that he/she is not required to undergo a cooling off period of three years in accordance with the board’s Rules and Regulations, and should not have held any position as an Office-bearer of the BCCI for a Cumulative period of nine years.
As of now, there has been no definitive word over who could be the successors to the posts left vacant by Shah and Shelar. But with the election notice given out, it means there is ample time to decide who will emerge as suitable candidates for the two vacant office-bearers’ posts in the BCCI.
BCCI Elections Timeline, as given by Electoral Officer AK Joti:
December 21: Call for Members to File Applications to Nominate their Representative
December 27: Deadline for Members to File Applications to Nominate their Representative
December 28: Release of Draft Electoral Roll
December 29 and 30: Submission of Objections to Names in the Draft Electoral Roll
January 2: (i) Examination of Objections and Decisions Thereon (ii) Release of Final Electoral Roll
January 3 & 4: Window to File Nomination Application
January 6: Scrutiny Applications and Announcement of List of Validly Nominated Candidates
January 7: Withdrawal of Nominations (in Person) and Announcement of List of Candidates
January 12: BCCI By-Election 2024 and declaration of results