Retd. HC judge announces Chennai Press Club election schedule, polling on Dec. 15

Chennai Press Club to hold elections on December 15, 2023, after 24 years; nominations accepted until December 7.

Elections to the Managing Committee of the Chennai Patrikaiyalar Mandram (Chennai Press Club), the oldest Press Club in Tamil Nadu, would be held on December 15 this year, Justice V. Bharathidasan, retired judge of the Madras High Court, announced on Thursday.

The former judge had taken over as the Election Officer on the request of a 12-member Special Guidance Committee, constituted by the General Body of the Press Club on August 20, 2023. Elections to the Press Club were last held in 1999. Journalists welcomed the initiative to conduct the polls after a gap of over two decades. Releasing the election notification and schedule, Justice Bharathidasan told journalists that the election would be conducted in accordance with bylaw 30 of the Press Club, to the posts of a president, two vice-presidents, general secretary, treasurer, joint secretary and five committee members. Only the primary members of the Chennai Press Club are eligible to vote and contest in the election. Nominations for the posts can be filed between November 30 and December 7 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., barring Sundays. They would be scrutinised between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on December 9.

Nominations can be withdrawn on December 10 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the final list of the candidates would be published on the same day at 6 p.m. The election would be held between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on December 15, and the votes would be counted on the same day at 6 p.m. The office-bearers would hold their posts for two years till December 2026. There are 1,502 primary members in the Press Club, and only those with a valid identity document would be allowed to vote, he added. The list of eligible voters, the model code of conduct and election notification were put up on the Press Club’s notice board, and would be hosted on its website — www.chennaipressclub.com.

N. Ram, veteran journalist and member of the Special Guidance Committee, said the conduct of the election was a breakthrough initiative. Elections to the Press Club were being held after nearly 25 years. Justice Bharathidasan would be the decision-making authority till the entire process is completed.

Justice Bharathidasan called for a peaceful poll. Special Guidance Committee members Bhagwan Singh, Nakkheeran Gopal, R. Nurullah, Savithiri Kannan and D. Suresh Kumar (Convenor) were among those present.