Minister of Youth Services and Sports Imran Raza Ansari was Monday elected as the new president of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) through a proper election of the cricket body held today.
The election marked an important development in the history of JKCA as the former chief minister and National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah was voted out as its president, thereby ending his more than 30 years of occupation of the chair of state’s prestigious cricket body.
Ansari secured 42 out of total 64 votes, and was unanimously elected as the president of the association. Former bureaucrat Mehboob Iqbal was elected as the new chairman, Muhammad Iqbal the general secretary and Abdul Rouf the new treasurer.
The elections were held under the supervision of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Dr. Asgar Samoon and Deputy Commissioner Youth Service and Sports at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium today at 11:00 am. Most of the JKCA members having voting rights took part in the elections, while as two dozen members considered close to Dr Abdullah skipped the elections.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
Dr Abdullah, who was President JKCA since 1980, decided not to contest. Terming the JKCA elections as undemocratic, he said his “ouster” was illegal and that he had a three-year term to serve as the board's president.
This is the first time Farooq Abdullah has lost control of the JKCA after 1980 when he was first elected president of the association.
JKCA came in bad light and role of Dr Abdullah as its president came under scanner after around Rs 100 crore scam surfaced in 2012 in the cricket body following a PIL filed by former state Ranji team player Majid Yaqoob Dar and club cricketer Nisar Ahmad Khan with regards to an alleged multi-crore scam.
In another development, former vice-president of JKCA Arwind Singh Micky approached the Excise Magistrate (Jammu) Arvinder Singh Langeh and got the JKCA executive committee decision of removing the former chief minister from presidentship of the association stayed.