Polling ends for bitterly contested HCA elections

Hyderabad, Jan 17 (IANS) Polling for the bitterly-contested elections to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) ended peacefully on Tuesday amid tight security with rival groups confident about their prospects.

Out of 216 voters, 207 cast their votes to decide the electoral fortunes of 19 candidates for six posts.

Tight security arrangements were made at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium where the polling was held amid heavy police presence.

Both canditates -- former Member of Parliament G. Vivek and Vidyuth Jaisimha -- were confident of bagging the post of president.

Returning Officer K. Rajeev Reddy has not announced the results as directed by Hyderabad High Court last week.

The High Court, while refusing to stay the polls, had directed that the results should not be announced till further orders. The petition challenging the elections will come up for final hearing on Wednesday.

The main contest for the post of president was between Vivek, who is currently an advisor to the Telangana government, and Vidyuth Jaisimha, son of late cricketer M.L. Jaisimha, after the returning officer rejected the nomination of former India captain Mohammed Azahruddin.

The returning officer, while rejecting the nomination papers of Azharuddin last week, said he was ineligible to contest as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had not lifted a ban imposed on him.

Meanwhile, Vivek maintained that he was eligible to contest the polls as per the norms of Lodha committee. He condemned the allegations made by former HCA president Arshad Ayub.

Ayub, a former cricketer, had claimed that Vivek was ineligible as the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee made it clear that a public servant can't contest the polls to a cricketing body.