Chennai: The stage is set for intriguing elections when the members of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India converge for its 40th annual general meeting here on December 23.
Nominations for the councillors, the most powerful group in the FMSCI that elects its president and vice-president, ended on December 13 and as many as nine members are in the fray for the five available seats.
In total, the council comprises eight members.
According to the FMSCI constitution, five foundermembers -Madras Motor Sports Club, Karnataka Motor Sports Club, Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, Calcutta Motor Sports Club, Indian Automotive and Racing Club Mumbai -do not need to contest in the elections provided they meet the criteria of organising certain number of events over a period of two years.
For the upcoming elections, two founder-members (Calcutta MSC and IARC, Mumbai) do not have enough points earned through organising events.
As a result, there will be elections for five posts.
There are 84 clubs registered under the FMSCI, but only 14 have the voting power to form the council that will subsequently elect president and vice-president (both should be from the council).
Going by the nominations, the council is bracing up to greet some fresh faces and the battle for the president post is also expected to be riveting.
The grapevine has it that the incumbent president Vicky Chandhok (Madras Motor Sports Club), who was re-elected unanimously in 2012, has a battle on hands with a few names doing the rounds as possible contenders.
The build-up to the elections has already been heated up with the Mumbaibased Sportscraft getting a court injection on FMSCI's resolution that allows only non-profit clubs being members of its council.
The year 2014 is pivotal for Indian motorsport as the federation has the big task of persuading the government to extend support to bring the Formula One back to the country .
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