LAHORE – The planned rotation of the Lahore Gymkhana Club chairmanship failed to take place on Wednesday after two members of the rival “Monopoly Breakers” group allegedly voted in favour of incumbent chairman Salman Siddique, allowing him to retain the position for another six months.
The development has triggered a fresh dispute within the club’s 12-member management committee, with the two factions offering conflicting accounts of the circumstances that led to Wednesday’s vote and the continuation of Mr Siddique as chairman. The club’s 2026-27 elections, held in February, resulted in an evenly divided management committee, with six members elected from Mr Siddique’s traditional group and six from the newly formed Monopoly Breakers group led by Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera.
Following the 6-6 result, the two sides reportedly reached a power-sharing arrangement under which Mr Siddique would serve as chairman for the first six months and Mr Sukhera would take over for the following six months. Members of the Monopoly Breakers group said the arrangement was also recorded in the minutes of the relevant meeting.
With Mr Siddique’s six-month term ending, the chairmanship was expected to pass to Mr Sukhera. However, Wednesday’s management committee meeting took an unexpected turn.
Members of the Siddique group said two Monopoly Breakers members, Dr Ali Razzaq and Dr Jawad Sajid, voted in favour of Mr Siddique, enabling him to retain the chairmanship.
Kamran Lashari, a member of the Monopoly Breakers group, alleged that the Siddique group had agreed to the six-month rotation after the February elections and had supported Mr Sukhera’s appointment as chairman for the second half of the term.
“The decision was recorded in the minutes. Now they have backed out, saying it is politics and that the numbers are on our side,” Mr Lashari said.
The meeting had initially been convened to discuss the disbursement of enhanced salaries to club employees. Mr Siddique, however, said other matters also came under discussion.
Giving his account of the proceedings, Mr Siddique said he had announced at the outset that Wednesday would be his last day as chairman. However, he said, the discussion subsequently turned to other issues and a majority of committee members expressed opposition to the policies of the Monopoly Breakers group.
Mr Siddique said he had suggested that the differences be resolved within the group. According to him, Mr Lashari then proposed that the matter be settled through a vote. He said seven of the 12 committee members voted against the Monopoly Breakers group’s position and asked him to continue as chairman.
Mr Siddique said he would seek to resolve the dispute amicably at the next management committee meeting, which he expected to be held on Tuesday or Wednesday.
He also said he had asked Mr Sukhera to resolve differences with members of his own group who did not agree with its proposed agenda for change.
“Sukhera is like my son,” Mr Siddique said, adding that he had urged him to take all members of his group along.
He expressed hope that the differences would be resolved at the next meeting.
The dispute has effectively stalled the proposed rotation of the chairmanship and deepened the power struggle that emerged following the February elections. The Monopoly Breakers group had challenged the long-standing dominance of the traditional group and secured six of the 12 seats on the management committee, with its supporters viewing the result as a mandate for change in the club’s administration.
The latest development has raised questions about the status of the reported six-month power-sharing arrangement and whether the agreed transfer of the chairmanship can still take place.
It has also placed the votes of the two members who allegedly backed Mr Siddique under scrutiny, as their support altered the balance within the evenly divided committee and enabled him to remain chairman.
