The Annual General Body Meeting of Royal Western India Turf Club held on Monday decisively voted for change. Vivek Jain who led the club for so many years had the mortification of seeing his most trusted friend and colleague Champaklal Jhaveri suffer a shock defeat. The mood of the electorate was clear when they did not endorse Vivek Jain for another term. Even Vivek Jain appeared to have reconciled to the situation by putting up only three candidates. Out of the three whom he supported, only first-timer Zinia Lawyer pulled through. Ashwin Mehta also suffered a big defeat.

Khushroo Dhunjibhoy comes back as Chairman for his eighth term at a critical time for the club which is facing both financial crisis and strain on the finances of the club due to the oppressive GST. The turf club has a task cut out to ensure racing operations are not affected by the weak finances of the club. There seems to be no magic wand in hand for anyone to change the scenario overnight. Outgoing Chairman Vivek Jain spoke about the reasons for quitting after being elected as the Managing Committee and why he lost the mandate from the club members which had always massively endorsed him.

Q: Why was the split in the group? Why did your trusted men desert you?

A: Three members M/s Nagpal/ Vahanvaty/ Luthria left me as they felt I was wanting my way without paying heed to their views (In truth I never once coerced them into a decision or force them to toe my line. The RWITC is not my company, and I only enjoy a casting vote)


Q: 2. Were the differences personal or concerning matters racing?

A: To the best of my knowledge there were none, and in fact they thought I was an excellent contributor to the Committee. Their differences were more inter-personal than anything to do with policies on running of the Club.

Q: 3. What is the situation in RWITC both in terms of financial crisis and the GST?

A: The RWITC turned around somewhat last year, by a reduction in losses by 50%. It will be a difficult year as the GST remains ambiguous and the lease and its costs are uncertain. I hope the Club can maintain its upward momentum.

Q: 4. Do you think that RWITC can bail itself out of the bleak situation?

We have always been blessed with a magic wand, and I am sure we will see better days.

Q: 5. Don`t you think you have abdicated your moral responsibility by resigning after getting the mandate to be the committee member?

That is one way of looking at it. The other is that two members whom I supported lost, and the opposition won all 7 seats. The racing fraternity knows of the desire of the other side to first replace me as Chairman, and then to bring down my strength. I believe in this uncomfortable environment, especially with the defeat of Champak bhai., would have made my participation ineffective. Also after being active and so involved, in the circumstances, a break was not a bad idea.

Q: 6. Could you not have taken the defeat in a sporting manner and accepted that the electorate wanted change?

A: I accepted that even before the elections by not fielding a five-member team to make a bid for the Chair. It takes courage and character to give up a seat of power and I had won quite well, even though not with the highest. I say with all the emphasis at my command, after having fought so many elections, that the voting system encourages abuse and can be misused to garner votes. Hence, I do not believe the final tally was entirely fair to me.