OdishaPlus Bureau
With Sanjay Behera having been elected as the secretary of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA), all speculations are now history. Incidentally, Sanjay is the son of Ashirbad Behera, former secretary of the cricketing body. Sanjay defeated his rival Naba Ranjan Patnaik. Other office bearers who were elected are: Pankaj Lochan Mohanty (President), Akshaya Kumar Samant (Vice President), Mehtab Khan (Joint Secretary), and Bikash Pradhan ( Treasurer.)
“Members, those who have voted for me, have given a befitting reply to those who conspired against my father and put him behind the jail,” Sanjay told the media after his victory in the OCA election.
According to the new Secretary, he has a blueprint and vision for the development of cricket in the state while nurturing of budding cricketing talents will be a major focus. Adequate steps will be taken for carrying out repair and renovation works at Barabati stadium, which was partially damaged during cyclone Fani.
It may be recalled that, just before the OCA elections, Ashirbad Behera was arrested for his alleged links in Artha Tatwa (AT) Group chit fund scam. ‘My victory is a tight slap on the faces of the conspirators’, said the new secretary. Incidentally, Sanjay is the son of Ashirbad Behera.
For the first time, intense fighting was witnessed between candidates of two factions who had locked horns with their respective contenders for the OCA elections.
While one group was led by former OCA Secretary Ashirbad Behera, the other group had entered in the poll-battle field under the leadership of his rival Pradeep Chauhan, the former Treasurer of the Association.
The newly-elected President Pankaj Lochan Mohanty is the former president of Indian Baseball Federation and belongs to the Behera group. He defeated Pradeep Chauhan representing the Boudh District Cricket Association and Union Sporting Club. Similarly, Akshaya Kumar Samant, Mehetab Khan and Bikash Pradhan belonging to the district cricket associations of Angul, Jharsuguada, and Khurda respectively too are from Behera’s group.
There are 73 voters of OCA which include nominated representatives of 31 district associations, 11 schools, 3 colleges, 20 clubs, 5 representatives each one from Ravenshaw University, KIIT University, East Coast Railway, Paradip Port Trust and Rourkela Steel Plant. Furthermore, 3 international cricketers including Shiv Sundar Das, Sanjay Raul, and Debasis Mohanty are the voters.
Ashirbad Behera, who is also a voter representing Rising Students Club, didn’t contest the election this time as his age is above 70. With the clean sweep, Behera who has served the OCA for the last 16 years will continue to play a key role in the election even though he is in judicial custody.