Sribhumi, Jan 7: The general election of the Sribhumi District Sports Association has taken on a distinctly political tone, triggering speculation and debate across the district after an unexpected cross-party move by local BJP leadership. With the election scheduled for January 8, the decision of the district BJP president to propose the candidature of the district Congress president has drawn widespread attention, particularly in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
State Minister Krishnendu Pal has already been elected president of the association unopposed, along with ten vice-presidents who also secured their posts without contest. Among them, the sixth vice-presidential position has gone to Sribhumi district Congress president Tapas Purkayastha. What has fuelled intense discussion is the fact that Purkayastha’s nomination was proposed by district BJP president Sanjeev Banik, an act that has raised eyebrows across political circles.
Although elections for the remaining posts of the sports association are set to take place on January 8, it is the list of proposers that has become the focal point of controversy. For some time, there have been murmurs in Sribhumi about perceived closeness between sections of the Congress leadership and the BJP, and the latest development has brought those conversations back into sharp focus.
With Assembly elections on the horizon, political observers are questioning the apparent cordiality between the district-level leaders of the two rival parties. While grassroots workers and supporters of the BJP and Congress continue to engage in fierce political rivalry, the visible cooperation at the leadership level has prompted speculation about underlying political calculations.
Adding to the controversy are allegations that individuals linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been nominated to certain posts within the association. Sources have claimed that nominations for those positions were not opened to wider participation, inviting criticism over the transparency of the process.
What would ordinarily have been a routine election to a sports body has thus evolved into a politically charged event, with its timing and implications being closely scrutinised across Sribhumi.
