EEMA President: Meet the contenders

Lalit Gattani, Deepak Chaudhary, Sagar Pingali, Rakhi Kankaria, Rajeev Jain in race for the top position

by e4m Staff
Published: Jun 25, 2026 2:59 PM | 2 min read

Lalit Gattani, Deepak Chaudhary, Sagar Pingali, Rakhi Kankaria, Rajeev Jain in race for the top position

The Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) has initiated elections for its National Executive Committee (NEC) for the 2026–28 term, with five candidates, including Lalit Gattani and Deepak Chaudhary, vying for the presidency.
Elections will also be held for various other positions, including Executive Vice President, General Secretary, and Regional Vice Presidents, with a detailed election schedule released by EEMA.
The voting process is set for July 25, with results announced on July 27, and will be conducted digitally with secure online measures in place.
A Chief Election Officer and an Election Observer Committee will oversee the election process, which includes a Model Code of Conduct to ensure professionalism and transparency in campaigning.

The race for the presidency of the Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) has begun, with four industry leaders entering the fray as the association formally kickstarts elections for its National Executive Committee (NEC) for the 2026–28 term.

As of now, Lalit Gattani, Deepak Chaudhary, Sagar Pingali, Rakhi Kankaria and Rajeev Jain, Founder & Director, Rashi Entertainment, are in the race for EEMA President, setting the stage for what is expected to be a closely watched contest within India's events and experiential industry.

Alongside the President's post, elections will also be held for Executive Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Secretary, Regional Vice Presidents for the North, East, West and South, Regional Joint Secretaries, and Regional Committee Members.

According to the election schedule released by EEMA, the eligible members list will be published on June 25, while nominations will open on June 30 and close on July 7. Following scrutiny and due diligence, the final list of eligible candidates will be released on July 9. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until July 13, with the final list of contestants to be announced on July 15.

The official campaigning period will run from July 16 to July 24. Voting will take place digitally on July 25 between 9 am and 9 pm, while the results will be declared on July 27.

Under the election guidelines, only Platinum Members with all dues cleared, including the current year's membership fees, are eligible to contest NEC elections. Voting for the five central positions—President, Executive Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer and Secretary—will be restricted to eligible Platinum Members. Regional positions will be voted on by Platinum, Gold and Associate Members from their respective regions who fulfil the eligibility criteria.

The election process will be overseen by an Election Observer Committee comprising Vijay Bokadia, Jai Mundra, Aarti Mattoo and Pritesh Sharma. Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rakesh Kumar Agarwal has been appointed Chief Election Officer and will have the final authority in resolving election-related disputes.

EEMA will conduct the voting entirely through a secure online platform with two-way encryption and voter authentication. The association has also introduced a detailed Model Code of Conduct and a dedicated WhatsApp Code of Conduct to ensure campaigning remains professional, transparent and issue-based throughout the election process.

With nominations set to open next week and five candidates already in contention for the association's top post, the EEMA elections are expected to draw significant attention from stakeholders across the country's events, exhibitions and experiential marketing ecosystem.