'Bengal Gambit': State Chess Body Complains To Central Govt Citing 'irregularities' In AICF Polls

The Ashok Hotel To The: With a complaint to the Central government alleging that the election process of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) does not align with the National Sports Development Code and the court orders, the Bengal Chess Association (BCA) seems to be playing the 'Bengal Gambit'.

On March 10, the general body of the AICF will be held in Delhi, where the results of the polls will be formally declared. There were 15 nominations for 15 posts in the AICF and the poll process ended in an agreed draw without a contest.

“March 10 will be a doomsday for Indian chess if the 15 people are declared as elected unanimously. The electoral roll itself violated the National Sports Development Code and the Delhi High Court order dated 16.8.2022,” International Master and former AICF Joint Secretary, Atanu Lahiri, told IANS.

Lahiri said the BCA has sent a well-researched and detailed complaint to the government seeking action in the matter.

The BCA has been fighting a legal battle against the AICF for disaffiliating it illegally.

“The AICF granted full affiliation to the Sara Bangla Daba Sangstha, whose office-bearers had fought and lost the elections conducted by the BCA. As per the AICF bylaws, when a state chess body is disaffiliated by the national body, it can have only an ad-hoc committee to run the state's chess affairs till the elections are held.

In West Bengal, the AICF gave affiliation to the Sara Bangla Daba Sangstha when the BCA was already in existence,” Lahiri contended.

The Secretary of the BCA, Antarip Roy, said in his letter to the Central government: “In the recent elections of the All India Chess Federation, several members of the electoral roll have been elected to the posts of AICF office-bearers for the term 2024-2027 in blatant violation of the National Sports Development Code, 2011 (Sports Code), as read with various judgments of the Hon’ble Courts, particularly the Judgment of 16.08.2022 in the matter of Rahul Mehra v Union of India & Ors W.P. (C) 195/2010.”

Citing the provisions of the National Sports Development Code and the order of the Delhi High Court in the Rahul Mehra case, Roy listed out some members of the AICF electoral college and how they are disqualified.

Lahiri said these issues were also brought to the notice of the two election officers of the AICF, but they did not reply to "our communications, nor act on the matter".

Incidentally, in the first list of electoral college published by the AICF, the Delhi Chess Association's name was not there.

Later, the Delhi High Court ordered the inclusion of Delhi Chess Association’s representatives in the chess body’s electoral college.

“The election officers or the AICF did not put out the revised electoral college, including the representatives of the Delhi Chess Association,” Lahiri said.

Curiously, the AICF has shifted the venue of the March 10 general body meeting from The Ashok Hotel To The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at [e-mail])