Former Madhya Pradesh Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Yashodhara Raje Scindia has been named by the Indian Olympic Association to head the four-member ad hoc committee to run the Equestrian Federation of India, rewrite its constitution within two months and conduct elections within a month thereafter.
International Equestrian Federation Director (Governance) Francisco Lima, advocate Vidushpat Singhania and former EFI Joint Secretary (Technical) Col. AK Yadav are the other members of the Committee, appointed by the IOA President Dr. PT Usha in keeping with a February 18 directive of Justice Purshushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the High Court of Delhi.
“The Ad Hoc Committee shall align the EFI Constitution and By-Laws with the National Sports Governance Act 2025 and the Rules 2026; restructure the General Body and membership framework in accordance with law; ensure that the Constitutions and By-Laws of all affiliated State Units are compliant; conduct free, fair and transparent elections to the Athletes Commission; and ensure the lawful constitution of the electoral college,” Dr. Usha stated in the Office Order.
Besides, with less than six months left for the start of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan, the ad hoc committee could well end up overseeing the team selection process. Given that there were issues ahead of the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games and the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, it can only be hoped that there are no issues of team selection this time around.
It does look like EFI will have a democratically elected and harmoniously functioning Executive Council after a long time. The last time elections were held and results declared – as an interim measure by an order of the High Court – was back in 2019 but many of the elected Executive Council members either resigned or were removed on one pretext or the other in 2022.
For 17 months, EFI ‘functioned’ without a meeting of the Executive Council as it had only three members left after the ‘purge’. It was not until May 2024 when a Division Bench of the High Court restored the 2019 Committee that a meeting could be held fulfilling the quorum. However, there appears to have been no meeting in the past year and a half.
The challenge before the Ad Hoc Committee is fairly straightforward. It will have to bring the Federation’s Statutes in line with the requirements of the National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules 2026. It would mean that only State and Union Territories’ Equestrian Associations can form part of the Electoral College and the General Body.
There is, of course, a practical problem but the application of common sense as was done for the Indian Golf Union in 2013 can help overcome that. The Ministry, empowered by the right to grant reasoned exemptions, can disentangle the knots by exempting the stipulation that State Equestrian Association must have district associations in at least 50 per cent of the districts.
Be that as it may, even if the ad hoc committee has been formed as a caretaker and transitional administrative and governance body, it marks the first time since its formation in 1967 that the reins will be held by civilians rather that Generals of the Indian Army – from Lt. Gen. MS Wadalia to Lt. Gen. R Gopal. It is also the first time that a woman will lead the Federation.
Feature image: Photograph of a drawing by Lorenzo Mattotti/Gallerie Martel in a Paris railway station
