Chess federation polls underway

By Venkatachari Jagannathan

Chennai, Jan 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Online voting for electing the new office bearers for the All India Chess Federation (AICF) was progressing smoothly with voters getting the confirmation as to whom they have voted.

The AICF is divided into two factions -- one led by former president P.R. Venketrama Raja and the other by secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan.

"Polling is underway. It will be on till 4 p.m. It is progressing well," Chauhan told IANS. He also said the voters got the confirmation as to whom they have voted.

"Today (Monday) morning, the Election Officer had sent a mail saying the confirmation facility to whom the vote has been cast is available," Chauhan said.

On Sunday, IANS had reported the concerns raised by voters about the integrity and security of the online voting process for electing the new office bearers.

"The polling was smooth and there was no technological hitch," Sanjay Chadha, one of the voters, told IANS.

"The voting process took just two minutes. It was simple and there was no glitch. I got the confirmation as to whom I had voted. The confirmation was on the screen and the voters can take a picture," Atanu Lahiri belonging to the Raja camp told IANS.

"We have not pressurised any voter. Our supporters are voting from their homes," Lahiri had added.

Both the camps are claiming that they would win by securing 36 votes.

The electoral college for AICF consists of 32 state associations, with each association having two votes.

The online voting system is developed by Zoho Corporation, a city based software company.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

Source: IANS