DDCA Election: Rohan Jaitley Defeats Kirti Azad to Retain Presidency

Rohan Jaitley, who is an experienced administrator, was re-elected to the presidency of the Delhi District Cricket Association, defeating former India cricketer Kirti Azad in the polls. It marks the start of the second term as the head of the cricket body in the state.

The results of the elections, which were announced on Tuesday, 17 December, revealed that Jaitley got 1,577 votes against Azad's 777 of the total 2,413 cast votes. He had easily surpassed the winning margin of 1,207 votes and would continue holding the seat.

The Rohan Jaitley camp was more successful on other occasions of the DDCA's polls as some prominent office-holders emerged victorious there, such as Shikha Kumar elected vice president decisively defeating Rakesh Kumar Bansal and Sudhir Kumar Agarwal with a wide margin, and other such elections brought within it the Ashok Sharma was in the position of a secretary and Harish Singla as treasurer. In addition to this, Amit Grover also won the election for joint secretary, which made the camp even stronger in the association.

Azad's Corruption Allegations Take Center Stage in DDCA Elections

Kirti Azad, a member of India's 1983 World Cup-winning team and a Trinamool Congress MP, was anticipated to pose a strong challenge to Rohan Jaitley in the DDCA elections. However, Azad fell significantly short in his bid for the president’s post.

Rohan Jaitley was first elected unopposed as DDCA president in 2020 and then re-elected last year by defeating advocate Vikas Singh. His father, the late Arun Jaitley, was also the president of DDCA from 1999 to 2013, leaving a legacy in the association.

In the run-up to the elections, Azad made some serious allegations of corruption against the current administration. He further alleged that only a minor portion of the around ₹140 crore received from the BCCI last year was spent. Azad also alleged that the DDCA spent ₹17.5 crore on floodlights, which is more than double the amount spent on similar work at the larger Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Further, he alleged that the money spent on installing eight lifts was ₹19 crore, according to PTI.

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