Five More State Units Join Support to Oust Indian Olympic Association Chief N. Ramachandran

The move to oust Indian Olympic Association President (IOA) N. Ramachandran on Saturday got support from five more state Olympic units, taking the total number of those demanding a No Confidence Motion against him to 14.

The State Olympic associations of Andaman and Nicobar, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Odisha and Nagaland have become the latest to join the chorus to oust Ramachandran by calling a Special General Meeting.

Now out of 35 state Olympic units, 14 have officially supported the move.

Earlier, other States like Bengal, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh had expressed their desire to pass a 'No Confidence Motion' against Ramachandran by calling a SGM of the IOA, besides 13 National Sports Federations.

According to the IOA constitution, a No Confidence Motion against the President, Secretary General, Treasurer and other executive council members can be passed if two-third majority of the members are present and voting.

The quorum for such a meeting will have to be three-fourth of the total strength of the IOA General Body entitled to vote.

The IOA General Body has 183 votes in total -- three each for NSFs and two each for state Olympic bodies. The IOA has 39 NSFs but a few of them are under dispute due to having rival factions.

The SGM may be convened at any time by IOA president or the Executive Council or on a written requisition signed by presidents and secretaries of not less than 50 per cent member units within one month from the date of receipt by the president of the said requisition.

If the president of IOA fails to convene a meeting, then the requisitionists can convene the meeting under arrangements made directly by them.

The infighting among the top brass of the IOA, which came out of a 14-month suspension only last year, got exposed just days after International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach's first visit to the country after taking over as IOC chief in 2013.

In his one-day whirlwind visit on April 27, Bach had called for unity among the IOA members so that they can work together for the betterment of Indian sports and sportspersons. He has also laid to rest the speculation that India may bid for 2024 Olympic Games.

Discontent against Ramachandran had been brewing for quite some time now with many members feeling that the IOA chief was running the show all by himself without consulting other officials.

Ramachandran's move to keep IOA office bearers, including secretary general Rajiv Mehta, in the dark before he visited Bach in Lausanne, Switzerland, along with sports secretary Ajit Sharan also did not go down well with some members.