It was always expected to be an easy victory for Kalyan Choubey but even by Indian sports administration standards, his 33-1 win against Bhaichung Bhutia to become president of the All India Football Federation on Friday was an unexpected landslide.
Choubey, the 45-year old former East Bengal and Mohun Bagan goalkeeper, became the first player-turned-president in the 85-year old history of the AIFF. Having joined the BJP a few years ago, he had also unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but with massive political support, had been considered a frontrunner for the post.
And even though he insisted his victory had nothing to do with his political affiliations — “my identity is first and foremost as a footballer that no one can deny,” he declared during an impromptu press meet – there was no denying the patronage he enjoyed. “Tell me one federation at any level that does not have political support,” he questioned, the answer obvious to all.
What was interesting was that with just one vote for Bhutia from the 34-member valid electoral college, the former national captain clearly could not muster even the votes from both his backers who proposed and seconded his nomination.
With the 14 members of the Executive Committee being elected unopposed, contest was on for only the three top posts with Karnataka’s NA Haris defeating Manvendra Singh 29-5 for the vice-president’s post and Arunachal Pradesh’s Ajay Kipa winning 31-2 against Gopalakrishna Kosaraju to become the treasurer. Bhutia said he would continue to be part of the AIFF administration as an ‘eminent player’ member of the Executive Committee. Six players – four men and two women — would be co-opted to complete the 23-member EC.
Bhutia left immediately after the result was known but insisted it was not the end of his association with the game’s administration. “I hope Kalyan will take Indian football forward. I have been working with football even before the elections and will continue to do that now also,” he said.
Choubey, meanwhile, made all the right noises about working together for realistic targets and not selling dreams. “We all can agree that Bhaichung’s contribution to Indian football can be matched by very few and we welcome him (in EC). Every person who can contribute will be taken together to move ahead as a united team,” he said even though the latter was conspicuous with his absence.
Detailing the immediate future of the newly-elected EC, Choubey said he had spoken to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and announced that a short-term plan would be presented on September 7 with the first formal meeting to be held in Kolkata on September 17-18. “Along with eminent footballers including Shabbir Ali, IM Vijayan and Climax Lawrence, we hope to present a realistic roadmap for Indian football after 100 days. Everyone wants India to play in the World Cup but we need to plan how to go about it and the direction it needs to take,” he added.
