PT Usha fails to get elected as SOM; Saina Nehwal, Anju Bobby George, Dola Banerjee, Rani Rampal voted in

New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha on Monday failed to get elected, but former shuttler Saina Nehwal made the cut as one of the four female Sportspersons of Merit (SOMs) in a field of six candidates following a controversial election.

Legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, former archer Dola Banerjee and former Indian women's hockey captain Rani Rampal were also elected as SOMs.

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Eighty SOMs -- 40 men and 40 women -- form the electoral roll for the election of the four female representatives. All the 80 SOMs cast their votes, according to the election result issued by Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Srivasatava.

Anju got 53 votes, the highest among the six candidates, while Rani received 50. Dola and Saina got 45 and 43 votes respectively in the virtual polls held between 9am and 5pm on Monday.

Usha was fifth with 40 votes while former basketball player Anitha Paul Durai got six votes.

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On Saturday, Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Vijender Singh and Yogeshwar Dutt as well as former table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta were elected unopposed as four male SOMs after eight other candidates withdrew their nomination.

The 43-year-old Gagan, who won a 10m air rifle bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, is considered one of the strong contenders for the top job of the IOA.

Usha can stand for the IOA Executive Council polls to be held on December 5 only if she is nominated to the General Assembly by a National Sports Federation (NSF), which is unlikely.

The track and field legend is not expected to be one of the two representatives from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Under the IOA Constitution, the candidate for the President will have to be an SOM or a member of the General Assembly.

In 2022, Usha was elected unopposed as IOA's first woman president via the SOM route.

The eight elected SOMs will become members of the IOA General Assembly, making them eligible to vote as well as stand in the December 5 polls of the new Executive Council.

Two SOMs -- one man and one woman -- will also become members of the IOA Executive Council.

Allegations and counter-allegations

Controversy struck the IOA SOM election when Usha lodged a complaint with Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Srivasatava, alleging that former archer Dola violated the Model Code of Conduct by circulating a WhatsApp message soliciting votes.

In her complaint, Usha objected to a WhatsApp message circulated through an account bearing Banerjee's name, seeking support for the 'New Bharat Panel' and specifically asking voters to elect four named candidates, along with their ballot serial numbers and roll numbers.

Commonwealth Games gold-winning weightlifter Sathish Sivalingam lodged a complaint to EO Srivasatava that "an organised effort is underway to influence members of the Electoral Roll in favour of a contesting candidate who is also the President of the Indian Olympic Association".

"... and that resources of the IOA are being used for this purpose," Sivalingam, one of the 80 SOMs taking part in the voting, wrote to Srivasatava without taking Usha's name.

Initially, there were 27 contestants in the fray for the eight SOMs before the number of candidates got reduced to 23 on November 5.

However, on Saturday, eight male former athletes withdrew their candidatures in inexplicable circumstances.

World Athletics Vice President Adille Sumariwalla, table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal, former shuttler B Sai Praneeth, former weightlifter Sathish, 1980 Olympics hockey gold winner Surinder Singh Shokar and former shooters Ronjan Sodhi, Mansher Singh and Moraad Ali Khan withdrew their candidatures.

Sharath Kamal was in the outgoing executive council by virtue of being the vice chairperson of the previous Athletes' Commission.

The members of the new Athletes' Commission, its chairperson and vice chairperson as well as the two athletes' representatives to the IOA General Body were also elected unopposed.

Among female SOMs, those who withdrew their candidature were former sprinter Ashwini Nachappa, former archer Chekrovolu Swuro, ex shuttler Trupti Murgunde, Neelam Setti Laxmi from weightlifting and Ragina Kiro from Canoe and Kayaking.