Rohan Jaitley-led panel sweeps all 12 seats of DDCA apex council

Rohan Jaitley retained the president’s seat as his 12-member panel swept the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) elections, securing a three-year term without facing any significant opposition. In the 2021 elections, the Rohan-led panel had won 11 out of 12 seats. This time, five other members of his 2021 team were re-elected, with two—secretary and treasurer—assuming higher responsibilities.

The re-elected members include Ashok Sharma ‘Mama’ (elected secretary), Harish Singla (treasurer), Shyam Sunder Sharma (director), Manjit Singh (director), and Navdeep Malhotra (director). Both Ashok Sharma and Singla served as directors in the outgoing apex council.

These elections featured three competing groups. The Rohan panel was backed by CK Khanna, a former BCCI acting president and ex-DDCA vice-president, as well as former DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda.

Rohan Jaitley (1,577 votes) defeated former India cricketer Kirti Azad (777 votes) by a commanding margin of 800 votes in a straight contest. An observer noted that Rohan benefitted from the Tihara group’s decision not to field a candidate for the president’s post. “Rohan gained votes from Tihara group supporters. Nonetheless, there was some apprehension in our camp because Azad, being a celebrity, could have made it a close fight had a third candidate been in the fray,” the observer said.

For the vice-president’s post, Shikha Kumar (1,246 votes), daughter of CK Khanna, emerged victorious in a triangular contest, defeating her closest rival, Rakesh Kumar Bansal (536 votes) of the Tihara panel, by 710 votes.

Ashok Sharma (893 votes) won the secretary’s seat by defeating former secretary Vinod Tihara (744 votes) in a quadrangular contest, securing victory by 149 votes. This marked Tihara’s second consecutive loss, having been defeated by Siddhartha Sahib Singh for the same post in 2021.

Amit Grover (1,189 votes) claimed the joint secretary’s position with a 619-vote win over Karnail Singh (619 votes) of the Tihara panel. Meanwhile, Harish Singla (1,328 votes) defeated Gurpreet Singh Sareen (594 votes) of the Azad-Sanjay Bhardwaj group by 734 votes to become treasurer.

All seven directors elected belonged to the Rohan-Khanna-Manchanda panel: Shyam Sunder Sharma (1,165 votes), Vikas Katyal (1,054), Manjit Singh (1,050), Navdeep Malhotra (1,034), Anand Verma (985), Vikram Kohli (939), and Tushar Saigal (926).

Among the unsuccessful candidates for the directors’ posts, Aditya Jain (712 votes) of the Azad-Bhardwaj group came closest to winning but fell 214 votes short of Tushar Saigal, the lowest-ranking winning candidate.

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The success of the Rohan-led panel can be attributed to several factors, including the vast network left behind by late Arun Jaitley, Rohan’s father and a DDCA president, as well as the influence of Khanna and Manchanda. Additionally, the candidates’ individual vote banks contributed to their overwhelming victory.

Sareen expressed disappointment at the loss but acknowledged the challenges faced by his group. “The winning panel had the advantage of access to data and machinery. We campaigned on issues like improving facilities for members, but the results make me wonder what DDCA members really want. The one-and-a-half-month campaign period was too short. Next time, we will start earlier and bring a younger team,” he said.

The elections primarily revolved around promises to enhance facilities for DDCA members, with corruption being a secondary issue. While the Tihara panel largely avoided the corruption debate, Azad was vocal about financial irregularities and the challenges members face in accessing the DDCA club.