Former Jharkhand chief minister and newly-inducted minister in the Narendra Modi government, Arjun Munda, is likely to be elected unanimously as president of the de-recognised Archery Association of India.
"I have completed the process (of filing nomination) and now look forward to the elections," Munda, who was entrusted with the tribal welfare ministry portfolio, told PTI from New Delhi on Friday.
"There's a lot of potential in India in archery, especially in tribal areas. We will look to tap the talent and continue to produce good archers," the BJP MP from Khunti said.
A three-time Jharkhand chief minister, the 51-year-old Munda is a hugely popular tribal leader who also runs an archery academy, which was instrumental in the rise of former world number one Deepika Kumari.
"Previously I worked at a small place (Saraikela-Kharsawan) and produced acclaimed archer like Deepika Kumari. Now, I will look to take it forward. In a country of 1.3 billion, I'm sure there are enough talent to produce an Olympic medal winner."
In an stunning development, the AAI's June 9 elections will be held simultaneously in New Delhi and Chandigarh with the the warring factions of the AAI -- one with former president Vijay Kumar Malhotra and the other with the last chief BVP Rao -- issuing two elections notices of the same date and time, albeit in two different cities.
Both the factions have claimed each other's elections as "illegal and in violation of the constitution" and it remains to be seen which one of the two elections would be given a go-ahead by the Delhi High Court where the new body has to submit a compliance report within six weeks' of taking over.
"We will ensure that the elections are free and fair. The notifications were given well in advance and we will follow the National Sports Code. It's time to work together for the future of Indian archery," he added.
Acting president of the AAI, Sunil Sharma claimed that they have got majority and would be the "clear winners".
"It's a strange scenario and it's likely that the elections where more number of members turn up will be deemed valid. Already 23 of the 31 affiliated members have given their written consent. We are going to be clear winners," Sharma said, adding that Virender Sachdeva (Delhi) and Pramod Chandurkar (Maharashtra) have filed their papers for secretary and treasurer, respectively.
Rao, meanwhile, has filed his nomination for the president's post in the elections to be held in Chandigarh.
"Any general assembly is organised with proper legal notice for elections. Their notification itself is wrong," Rao who had quit as president after Supreme Court's ruling earlier this month, told PTI.
A retired IAS officer, Rao was elected AAI president on December 22, 2018, bringing an end to the era of Malhotra, who served as head of the national body for 40 years from 1973 to 2012 before being de-recognised by the government for not following the sports code.
But he quit after the Supreme Court gave a ruling for fresh elections and set aside the AAI constitution as amended by Delhi High Court-appointed administrator S Y Quraishi.
"I was a Cabinet Minister rank in Telengana, as a policy advisor to the government. But I had to quit as Quraishi said 'there should not be any public servant as per the constitution'. But now Mr Munda has become a Minister for contesting," Rao quipped.
Former vice-president from Jammu and Kashmir, Sunil Sharma, was subsequently elevated to the top post on May 4 to start the process for fresh polls with a 10-member executive body.
Sharma, who is believed to be from the faction supporting ex-president Malhotra, first sent an election notice for May 26, which was later rejected by secretary Maha Singh.
Later both the parties sent out separate elections notices for the same June 9 date but in different venues.
The Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra tried to intervene and called both parties to the IOA office.
The internal wrangling had led to the archers pulling out of the World Cup Stage I in Medellin, Colombia, though the official reason was missing their connecting flight.
At World Cup Stage II in Shanghai, they returned empty-handed and bagged a solitary bronze in the compound section in Stage III in Antalya, Turkey.
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