The Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) held its re-election on Saturday amid a prolonged internal dispute that had resulted in mass resignations and a police intervention at the association’s office. Actor Upasana Singh emerged as the top vote-getter, while Sahila Chaddha secured the second-highest number of votes.
Upasana received 360 votes, followed closely by Sahila with 357 votes. The winning panel also includes Vikas Verma, who received 349 votes, and Deepak Parashar with 348 votes. Kunickaa Sadanand secured 312 votes, while Varsha Usgaonkar Sharma received 306.
Nagma Moraji, who received 290 votes, also celebrated her victory. Following the announcement of the results, she shared a message on social media thanking CINTAA members for their support and for placing their trust in the panel. Videos from the election showed members of the winning group celebrating together with hugs and flowers.
The election took place after a major dispute within the film workers’ body. In August, 11 members, including eight elected representatives from the 21-member committee, resigned. In a joint letter, the members alleged that the association had repeatedly moved away from collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional procedures.
The resignations subsequently led to disagreement over the status of the existing committee. While one side maintained that the panel had effectively been dissolved following the resignations, others disputed that position.
Former office-bearers Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure had approached the court seeking a stay on the re-election. However, their plea was rejected, allowing the election process to proceed.
Tensions escalated further just a day before voting. Allegations surfaced over an attempt to remove official documents from the CINTAA office. Police were called to the premises amid the dispute, and videos from the incident showed officers attempting to calm the members and urging them to maintain decorum.
Both sides later maintained that they were acting to protect member-related information when the police intervention took place.
With the re-election now complete, the new panel is expected to take forward the association’s work and address the concerns that led to the recent internal crisis. The result also marks a fresh phase for CINTAA after weeks of disagreements among its members and office-bearers.
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