Sandhu & Co. to take over CGC today

Shona Manco

Chandigarh, April 27

Sandeep Sandhu will take on the mantle of the President of the Chandigarh Golf Club tomorrow following the AGM and other formalities. This is the first time in over 30 years — since elections became the norm at the club — that a unanimous committee will take over the running of the club.

According to Simran Singh, a founding member of the club, “elections were held back then also but they were low-key.”

Due to common friends and associations amongst members interested in managing club affairs, it was unanimously decided last year that Birinder Singh Gill would contest for president then and Sandeep Sandhu would not fight the election, and instead offer his services to the club in 2019.

Things did not go completely as planned last year as Gill had to face another contender for the post of president. The rumour in the club was that they did not want him to get elected without putting up a fight!

13 to 11

This time around too there were some hiccups. Sukhi Lehal showed a keen interest to contest the election but did not file his ballot papers. After filing of nominations, there were 13 people vying for a place on the committee, which had room only for 11! However, Parneeta Grewal, who was going for her first stint on a general committee, graciously decided to step down, as did Col HS Mann. “I decided to step down as I do not want the club to spend a huge amount on elections just for one person,” Mann said.

Members feel the money saved can be utilised on projects that often don’t receive funding through the regular budget — maybe the money saved can go towards buying carts or assisting staff. Such investments can make it a better experience for club members but are often not justifiable expenditure. But that is for future committees to decide.

A lot of contestants stay away from voting, so a unanimous election can attract more members to serve as well. Sandeep Sandhu’s team has a couple of first-timers in Sanjay Talwar and Kulwant Singh Bhullar.

According to the grapevine at the club, SPS Matharoo will take over as the Captain while Manpreet Singh Waraich will probably hold the post of secretary and Col Iqbal is slated to become vice-president. Dr Batth is most likely to take over finances while tournament and handicapping will most likely be handled by Darvesh Kumar. Talwar is expected to look after entertainment and Sanjeev Verma will probably be faced with the tough task of bar and catering.