<p>Former India goalkeeper Ashish Ballal on Thursday alleged serious irregularities in the creation of the electoral college for Hockey Karnataka’s polls, claiming he was denied the nomination ‘unjustly’ despite following due process.</p>.<p>Hockey Karnataka (HK) is scheduled to conduct elections during its September 8 AGM and had asked all its affiliated district associations to send their nominations – one male and one female – by August 23 (5:00 pm).</p>.<p>Ballal was nominated by Hockey Udupi and despite, Ballal claimed, sending his papers through email and post well within the deadline, he found out on Wednesday – when the electoral list was announced – that his name was missing and instead Kanchan Prasad was the one listed as the male representative.</p>.<p>“This is absolutely disgusting,” said a furious Ballal. “Hockey Karnataka has not given me an exact reason why my nomination wasn’t accepted. I’ve gotten to know that they’ve de-recognised Hockey Udupi that sent my nomination and they (HK) have created their own Hockey Udupi. This is a complete violation of all the rules and regulations.</p>.<p>“In fact this is the case with around 7-8 district associations. Their nominations have not been accepted on the ground that their association has been disaffiliated. Hockey Karnataka have created their own district associations out of nowhere to suit their needs. They’ve planted their own people in complete disregard for the constitutional and election procedures,” alleged Ballal.</p>.<p>Hockey Karnataka secretary AB Subbaiah said that Ballal’s nomination was rejected on two grounds. “Firstly, his nomination papers reached us at 5:30 pm on August 23 while the deadline was 5 pm. Secondly, Hockey Udupi was disaffiliated earlier this year because they were completely inactive. Neither have they conducted any tournaments nor have they attended any meeting. So we had no choice but to disaffiliate them and create a new one. That’s what we did for a few others who weren’t active.”</p>.<p>“We want district associations to be active and thriving, not dormant like it used to be around 20 years ago. Ballal is a friend of mine and if he wanted to attend the AGM, he should have consulted me on which is the recognised Hockey Udupi.” Ballal, however, hit back at his former team-mate. “By Subbaiah’s own logic what has Hockey Bangalore (Rural) and Hockey Bangalore (Urban) done to the game. Hockey Bangalore (Rural) has no clubs affiliated to it. They haven’t conducted a single tournament. But Dr SVS Subramanya Gupta has been the president because of his close links with Subbaiah.”</p>.<p>Ballal also alleged nepotism in Hockey Karnataka, charging that the association was filled with people from one district.</p>.<p>Ballal questioned the process of disaffiliation. “A district association cannot be disaffiliated just like that. They need to be intimated and given a chance to represent their case. Then a committee needs to vote on the issue. None of these things was followed.</p>.<p>“With regards to the blatant violation of rules in formation of the electoral college and disaffiliation of district associations, I urge the Department of Youth Services and Sports to intervene. They’ve been granting funds to Hockey Karnataka but failed in monitoring their activities. I hope they get deeper into this malaise and fraud by Hockey Karnataka.” Ballal said he was open for a legal action if the electoral list is not amended by Hockey Karnataka.</p>
<p>Former India goalkeeper Ashish Ballal on Thursday alleged serious irregularities in the creation of the electoral college for Hockey Karnataka’s polls, claiming he was denied the nomination ‘unjustly’ despite following due process.</p>.<p>Hockey Karnataka (HK) is scheduled to conduct elections during its September 8 AGM and had asked all its affiliated district associations to send their nominations – one male and one female – by August 23 (5:00 pm).</p>.<p>Ballal was nominated by Hockey Udupi and despite, Ballal claimed, sending his papers through email and post well within the deadline, he found out on Wednesday – when the electoral list was announced – that his name was missing and instead Kanchan Prasad was the one listed as the male representative.</p>.<p>“This is absolutely disgusting,” said a furious Ballal. “Hockey Karnataka has not given me an exact reason why my nomination wasn’t accepted. I’ve gotten to know that they’ve de-recognised Hockey Udupi that sent my nomination and they (HK) have created their own Hockey Udupi. This is a complete violation of all the rules and regulations.</p>.<p>“In fact this is the case with around 7-8 district associations. Their nominations have not been accepted on the ground that their association has been disaffiliated. Hockey Karnataka have created their own district associations out of nowhere to suit their needs. They’ve planted their own people in complete disregard for the constitutional and election procedures,” alleged Ballal.</p>.<p>Hockey Karnataka secretary AB Subbaiah said that Ballal’s nomination was rejected on two grounds. “Firstly, his nomination papers reached us at 5:30 pm on August 23 while the deadline was 5 pm. Secondly, Hockey Udupi was disaffiliated earlier this year because they were completely inactive. Neither have they conducted any tournaments nor have they attended any meeting. So we had no choice but to disaffiliate them and create a new one. That’s what we did for a few others who weren’t active.”</p>.<p>“We want district associations to be active and thriving, not dormant like it used to be around 20 years ago. Ballal is a friend of mine and if he wanted to attend the AGM, he should have consulted me on which is the recognised Hockey Udupi.” Ballal, however, hit back at his former team-mate. “By Subbaiah’s own logic what has Hockey Bangalore (Rural) and Hockey Bangalore (Urban) done to the game. Hockey Bangalore (Rural) has no clubs affiliated to it. They haven’t conducted a single tournament. But Dr SVS Subramanya Gupta has been the president because of his close links with Subbaiah.”</p>.<p>Ballal also alleged nepotism in Hockey Karnataka, charging that the association was filled with people from one district.</p>.<p>Ballal questioned the process of disaffiliation. “A district association cannot be disaffiliated just like that. They need to be intimated and given a chance to represent their case. Then a committee needs to vote on the issue. None of these things was followed.</p>.<p>“With regards to the blatant violation of rules in formation of the electoral college and disaffiliation of district associations, I urge the Department of Youth Services and Sports to intervene. They’ve been granting funds to Hockey Karnataka but failed in monitoring their activities. I hope they get deeper into this malaise and fraud by Hockey Karnataka.” Ballal said he was open for a legal action if the electoral list is not amended by Hockey Karnataka.</p>
