New Delhi: The India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) has released the final list of valid nominations for its Governing Board elections for 2026-28. A total of 19 candidates remain in the fray for 16 positions.
Incumbent Vice Chairman Mr Chander Mansharamani has not filed a nomination this year. Mr Amaresh Tiwari of A.T. Seasons is the only valid candidate for the post and is set to be elected unopposed. Mr Ashish Jagota of Concept Conferences Pvt. Ltd. is also the sole candidate for Honorary Treasurer.
The only contest among office bearers is for Honorary Secretary, between Mr Sudeep Sarcar of IEML and Mr Neeraj Dhawan of Falcon Exhibitions.
Segment-wise picture
- PCO (2 seats): Mr Naveen Rizvi (ICE Pvt. Ltd.) and Ms Vibha Bhatia (MM Activ), the only two valid nominees.
- DMC (4 seats across Travel Agencies/DMC and Tour Operator/DMC): Mr Ajay Vinayak (Palomino Hospitality), Mr Tushar Kesharwani (Vacation Experts), Mr Riyaz U.C. (Spiceland Holidays), Mr Omesh Raina (GIG Hospitality) and Mr Dharmendra (Geanis Holidays).
- Venue / Congress and Convention Centres (2 seats): Mr Vikas Sood (JECC) is the lone nominee.
- Hotel (2 seats): Mr Randhir Gupta (May Fair), Mr Mohammad Ali (Accor) and Mr Barun Gupta (Expo Inn).
- PEO (1 seat): Mr Sanjeev Pasricha (C.S. Direkt), unopposed.
- Allied (2 seats): Ms Deepika Chowdhary (Candid India), Mr Rajesh Charanda (The Platinum Organisers) and Mr Raghav Khosla (Exhibition Showcase).
Withdrawals under “One Person, One Post”
ICPB received 27 nominations, including two duplicates, which were scrutinised on 9 October at the ICPB office at The Ashok, New Delhi. Under Rule 16(g) of the ICPB Memorandum of Association, a member can contest for only one position. Those with multiple nominations were asked to withdraw the additional ones by 4:00 PM on 14 October. The following withdrawals were recorded:
- Mr Sudeep Sarcar: withdrew from Vice Chairman and Venue; contests for Honorary Secretary.
- Mr Amaresh Tiwari: withdrew from DMC; contests for Vice Chairman.
- Mr Neeraj Dhawan: withdrew from PEO; contests for Honorary Secretary.
- Ms Vibha Bhatia: withdrew from Honorary Secretary; contests for PCO.
- Ms Lalitha Rai: withdrew her PCO nomination.
Mr Sarcar’s exit from the Vice Chairman race leaves Mr Tiwari without a challenger. Mr Dhawan’s exit from PEO leaves Mr Pasricha unopposed there.
The elections will be conducted under Returning Officer Mr Arun Srivastava, Joint Director General, Ministry of Tourism.
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