New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) Justice (retired) RS Malik, who was appointed as returning officer by the Indian Golf Union (IGU) President Brijinder Singh to conduct the elections, on Tuesday said that there was no need to conduct the controversial polls as there was only one contestant for each post.

Incumbent Singh was elected unopposed as president as he was the lone candidate for the post, though it is not immediately known whether the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will recognise the polls or not.

Also Read | Kirti Azad Makes Huge Allegations, Says ‘DDCA Spent Only Fraction of Rs 140 Crore It Got from BCCI Last Year’.

As per the election schedule, nominations must be finalised by December 5, with the final list of contestants, after scrutiny and withdrawals, to be confirmed by December 10.

Justice (retd) Malik was the third appointee to become the RO for the December 15 elections, after Justice (retd) OP Garg and Justice (retd) Permod Kohli.

Also Read | Atalanta vs Real Madrid UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Live Streaming Online & Match Time in India: How To Watch UCL Match Live Telecast on TV & Football Score Updates in IST?.

After Kohli's appointment as the RO, IOA president PT Usha had raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest, given he is the current chairperson of the IOA's Arbitration Commission. Kohli later stepped down, leading to Singh appointing Malik.

"As the number of candidates contesting for all the posts is equal to the number of posts which are to be filled, in view of Clause 9 (1) of Model Election Guidelines prescribed in the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011, all the above said contesting candidates shall be deemed to be duly elected unopposed to their respective posts," Malik said in a notice on Tuesday.

"Therefore, it shall not be necessary to hold polling on 15 December 2024."

Malik informed that Rana Pratap Kalita had withdrawn his nomination for the post of vice-president.

Satish Kumar and Sanjeev Rattan were the lone candidates for the posts of secretary and treasurer respectively.

Nine other individuals were also listed as Governing Council members.

Kohli had replaced Justice (retd) Garg, the first RO appointed by IGU for the December 15 polls, who initially barred five state associations from participating in the polls on November 25 for not providing requisite documents.

Garg reversed his decision the following day, leading the IGU to announce an indefinite postponement of the elections.

The postponement prompted IOA president Usha to write to the IGU chief seeking an explanation and warning of "strict actions," including formation of an ad hoc body, if the response was unsatisfactory.

After that, Singh appointed Justice (retd) Kohli as RO, who later stepped down.

Usha had earlier written to Singh, urging him to adhere to the principles of good governance and the IOC Charter.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)