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The Bengal Olympic Association (BOA), an organisation that comprises of all State sporting bodies, has taken a new shape with a fresh Executive Committee sweeping into power.
The new body is headed by Ajit Banerjee, elder brother of State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, who is a part of the Maidan, which controls the sport in Bengal, is out-and-out football man. He owns the second division I-League side, Kalighat Milan Sangha.
A soft-spoken Banerjee is known for his honesty and firmness. Veteran Maidan watchers say that Banerjee will fight for the cause of all the sports associations whose main constraint is money to run their activities.
His elevation to head the BOA is being seen as the major victory for the group that is opposed to State Sports Minister Madan Mitra. The West Bengal State Council of Sports, which provides funds to State Association for various activities, is expected to come under severe pressure as Banerjee, the head of the BOA, hopes to have a large say in disbursement of funds to sports bodies.
Hitherto there was one voice in Sports council matters and now onward there will be another voice equally strong enough to demand things for voiceless sports bodies.
The newly-elected President is not alone in his fight for the cause of the BOA. His younger brother Swapan Banerjee is also elected as one of the joint secretaries.
Banerjees will be supported by General Secretary, Dilip Bhattacharya, a veteran sports administrator who is not new to the BOA. Bhattacharya has been its secretary for 16 years. He is known for his administrative acumen. He is a stickler for rules and will go by books in all matters. Bhattacharya has served as the President of the Volleyball Federation of India.
Like Bhattacharya, the newly-elected treasurer, Kamal Bhandari is an octogenarian. Having spent years in the BOA as its Senior Vice-President, Bhandari will be occupying the hot seat for the first time. A renowned body-builder, he was seven-time National champion and two-time Mr Universe finalist (he finished sixth in 1954 and 60) before turning to sports administration.
The overwhelming response Banerjee and his team got from the 34 units at the annual general meeting held on Sunday pointed to a complete sway of the president on the State body. The sheer majority the Banerjee group displayed at the meeting forced a complete pull out of all its candidates by the ruling group.
Sports minister Mitra’s effort to bring about a compromise fell flat on its face as the Ajit Banerjee group refused to accept any of the proposals leaving the sports Minister with a red face.
Banerjee has a few tasks cut out for him. The parallel association problems in more than a dozen associations, infrastructure development through State government and financial support to needy associations will cry for his immediate attention.
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