Bhubaneswar: Former Chief Secretary of Odisha, Asit Kumar Tripathy has been elected as the new President of the Bhubaneswar Club. Mr. Tripathi defeated his rival, former bureaucrat Bijay Pattnaik, by 278 votes. A total of 1274 votes were cast in the election, with Tripathy getting 776 and Pattnaik 498. Similarly, Mahendra Gupta has been elected as the Vice President of Mr. Tripathy’s team, IAS Officer Vishal Dev as Secretary, and Ashok Kumar Mishra as the Joint Secretary of the City club.
After being elected president of the Bhubaneswar club, Tripathy thanked all the members of the club and said that democracy is very important in any organisation.
“The city has a large number of intellectual members. Steps will be taken to develop the club with everyone in mind. It is a club for more than 70 years. But the purpose for which the club was formed has not been met. It’s not just a bar or a restaurant,” he said.
“Just as there are opportunities for recreation, education, cultural activities in big cities, the Bhubaneswar Club will be prepared in its line, Tripathy said and added that he and his team “would work to make it a multi-faceted club like India International Center, Jim Khana Club”.
After Tripathy retired from the post of Chief Secretary last year, the state government appointed him Chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council. He is also the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister.
Similarly, after the victory, Mahendra Gupta, the vice-president of the club, thanked all the members. Mr Gupta said the president’s goal would be to rebuild the club in a new way.
“Efforts will be made to make the Bhubaneswar club one of the best clubs in the country,” said Secretary Vishal Dev. Arrangements will be made for members to avail all kinds of benefits in the new premises of the club which is under construction. Also, efforts will be made to implement the advice and suggestions of all members and a committee will be formed for this purpose, Mr Dev said.
The election of Bhubaneswar club, known as the Premium Club of Odisha, was held for two days i.e on Saturday and Sunday. The votes were counted on Monday and Tripathy’s team walked out victorious.
Besides, Sanjukta Mohapatra has been elected as the president of Cuttack Club today. Dr. Mohapatra is a former principal of Shailabala Women’s College in Cuttack.
While Satyaki Ghosh has been elected as Secretary, Janmejay Mohapatra elected as the Vice President. Besides, Satyamohan Rath has been elected as the Joint Secretary and Kamal Das as the Treasurer.
