Chennai: The newly elected managing committee of Chennai Press Club assumed office on Sunday, marking the end of a historic election held after 25 years. The election logged a voter turnout of 91.2%, with 1,371 of the 1,502 members casting their votes. A total of 44 candidates contested for 11 key positions, including president, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer, two vice presidents, and five committee members.
The ‘League for Justice,’ led by president Suresh Vedanayagam, secured a near-total victory, winning 10 of the 11 posts. Notable figures, including opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, BJP state president K Annamalai, AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and leaders from CPI extended wishe to the winners. VCK MP Ravikumar and DMK education minister Anbil Mahesh also conveyed their best wishes.
In a joint statement on Monday, newly elected general secretary M Haseef and president Suresh expressed their gratitude, stating, “With numerous tasks ahead, we kindly request all members to guide and support us with affection on this new journey.”
The high-profile election was overseen by retired Justice V Bharathidasan, who ensured a smooth and incident-free process. The polling featured colour-coded ballot boxes for each post and law students and junior advocates volunteered at polling booths. The vote-counting process was efficient, with results announced within three hours.
Nelson Xavier was elected joint secretary. Sundara Bharathi and J Madan from the ‘League for Justice’ were elected as vice presidents, while S Manikandan secured the position of treasurer. The executive committee saw the election of P Stalin, S Pazhanivel, M Vijaygopal, and Akhila Eswaran from the same team. Gavaskar was the sole member from ‘Team Unity’ to win a committee member seat.
