It was Dr Cyrus Poonawalla’s race all the way. Not only was he reelected Chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) polling the second highest number of votes (823) after Vivek Jain (843), the 1,400-odd voters reposed confidence in him by retaining his entire ‘team.’ Poonawalla’s prime opponent Dr Vijay Mallya, head of United Breweries Group and a member of the Rajya Sabha, made it to the committee with 565 votes though his panel came a-cropper with three of its members losing.
Cyrus Poonawalla: still in the saddle
In the run-up to this ‘clash of the titans’ RWITC members had a field day being feted and courted by both sides with the number of lavish parties thrown touching a new peak. Members were beseeched to cast votes for an entire group unlike in earlier years when the practice was to seek an individual vote. Poonawalla said, "I’m happy to see that members chose to vote for integrity and performance and not for entertainment and partying,” reported The Indian Express of December 22, 2006. Mallya is known for his extravagant lifestyle and is often referred to as ‘the king of good times.’
Talking about the priorities of the reelected committee Poonawalla assured that a club house was definitely on top of the agenda. Asked about night racing, which had been one of Mallya’s main poll planks, Poonawalla said, "If it is feasible and viable, we will take a look at it,” reported The Times of India of December 22, 2006.