The Wrestling Federation of India elections, which were highly anticipated, have been postponed by five days and will now be held on July 11. The delay was decided by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)-nominated ad-hoc committee due to multiple disputes within the state bodies, whose members will participate in the elections.
Some members raised objections regarding the eligibility of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s family members to vote in the elections. They alleged that these family members were “illegally appointed” to the state association.
The entire election process, including the formation of the Electoral College, nomination filing, and voting, has been pushed back by five days. The ad-hoc committee, consisting of retired high court judge MM Kumar and two others, was approached by disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh. These state units claimed that they were wrongly disaffiliated by the WFI under Brij Bhushan’s leadership. Brij Bhushan himself has faced charges of sexual harassment by the Delhi Police.
During the meeting called by the ad-hoc committee, it was revealed that several more states had made similar allegations against Brij Bhushan. Approximately 10-11 state units claimed to have been either illegally disaffiliated or had their membership stripped by Brij Bhushan during his tenure as WFI president. The returning officer will hear these cases and decide which disputed federations will be allowed to vote in the WFI elections.
Objections have also been raised regarding the inclusion of Brij Bhushan’s son-in-law, Vishal Singh, in the voters’ list. Vishal is the president of the Bihar Wrestling Association (BWA). Former office-bearers of the federation have written to the ad-hoc body stating that the dissolution of BWA in 2018 violated the WFI’s bye-laws. If the returning officer upholds their appeal, Vishal Singh will not be eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.
The postponement of the WFI elections means they will now take place 11 days after the initial June 30 deadline set by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. During a meeting with protesting wrestlers on June 7, it was decided that no one from Brij Bhushan’s family would be allowed to contest for key positions. Wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat will have a significant say in determining the occupants of the president, general secretary, and treasurer positions.
