New Delhi ∙ The victory in the vice-presidential election is a victory for the pro-Sangh Parivar literati who tried to seize the Central Sahitya Akademi administration. C. Radhakrishnan, a Malayali writer who competed in the official panel, failed. Radhakrishnan was defeated by Delhi University teacher and Hindi writer Prof. Kumud Sharma, who contested with the support of the Sangh Parivar. Kumud Sharma won by a majority of one vote.
Meanwhile, Madhav Kaushik, who contested for the post of chairman of the official panel, won. Mellepuram G. Venkatesa of the pro-Sangh Parivar panel was defeated. Venkatesa is the former Vice Chancellor of Karnataka Sanskrit University. He is the director of the Samvit Research Foundation and has won the Kannada Sahitya Akademi Award twice.
C. Radhakrishnan responded that he is not accusing politics in the election. He has contested only one election in his life. The competition was fierce. But he failed in that, he said. It is estimated that the increase in the number of writers from the Hindi region led to the defeat of C. Radhakrishnan.
The election was held for the 24-member executive committee of Kendra Sahitya Akademi. 92 members have voting rights. Although Madhav Kaushik, who was the vice president, was supposed to step down from the position of the current president Chandrasekhara Kambar, the way for the contest was paved with the arrival of the Sangh Parivar panel. They submitted their papers at the last minute to compete for the positions of President, Vice President and Executive Council.
It was assumed that when Chandrasekhara Kambar steps down, current Vice President Madhav Kaushik will take over as President and C. Radhakrishnan from Kerala will be appointed as Vice President to ensure representation of South India. Meanwhile, the way for the competition was prepared.
English Summary: Kendra Sahitya Akademi Election – Live Updates