Sanjay Kapoor to head the Chess Federation after defeating Venkatrama Raja

Last updated on January 6th, 2021 at 07:17 am

Sanjay Kapoor: In the first contest for elections of the All India Chess Federation, Sanjay Kapoor emerged victorious defeating former president PR Venkatrama Raja. This is the first election of spurts as since 2005, all the decisions were taken after a unanimous call. 

Kapoor, who represented Uttar Pradesh Chess Association, won a closely contested election against the Raja with 33 votes against 31. Bharat Singh Chauhan was elected once again for the secretary’s post in the polls on January 4. 

The elections were held online, which saw Chauhan retaining his spot against Ravindra Dongre to 35 against 29 votes for Dongre. Chauhan’s side got the better of the election as Naresh Sharma too was elected as the treasurer for the AICF beating Kishore Bandekar by 34-30. 

The Federation has been divided into two factions since a long time, one of which is led by Chauhan while the other is led by Raja. They have not been on good terms due to various issues and one of the major one being conduct of elections. The disagreements became so prominent in the recent years that the matter even went for legal battles. 

There were cases where the president suspended the secretary and other times the secretary suspended the president. It stretched for over one and a half years only to be intervened by a court appointed by observer Justice(retired) K Kannan, which led to the conduction of election online in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. 

It was only after 15 years that the association saw a full proof election process where the candidates were not chosen unanimously but through elections. The process included determining a president, secretary and treasurer, six vice-presidents and six joint secretaries. 

Kappor told PTI, “We have created history. It is a victory for chess lovers. It is the beginning of a new era for chess players and chess lovers in the country.”

He also added that he will be working for the chess players and those who love the sport in the country while also assuring that his vision is to develop this sport from grass root level and also take it to the schools.