Controversy Surrounds WFI Elections As Allegations And Unexpected Inclusions Emerge

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and his son Karan, who are currently facing allegations of sexual harassment, have been left out of the electoral roll for the upcoming Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections. However, the list has unexpectedly included members who are not affiliated with the existing state bodies.

Despite Brij Bhushan Singh and his son Karan, who is the vice-president of the same state body, being excluded from the list, the outgoing chief's son-in-law Vishal Singh has been nominated as a representative from Bihar in the elections.

Significantly, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had made a commitment to the protesting wrestlers, led by Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, assuring them that no member of Brij Bhushan's family would participate in the elections.

Anita Sheoran, a 38-year-old witness in the sexual harassment case against Singh, has been named as the representative for Odisha in the upcoming polls scheduled for August 12. Sheoran, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist from Haryana and currently serving in the state police, will be participating in the elections.

Surprisingly, Prem Chand Lochab, who holds the position of secretary in the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), has been listed as a representative from Gujarat. Additionally, Assam has been granted voting rights following an unexpected decision by the ad-hoc panel to extend membership to the state.

A source from WFI raised questions about these decisions, stating that it is difficult to understand how an ad-hoc panel has the authority to grant membership to a state. Typically, such decisions are made by the General Council. The source further pointed out that this move is a clear violation of the WFI Constitution, as individuals who are not part of the state bodies have been nominated and approved on the electoral college list.

As per the WFI Constitution, only members of the state executive are eligible to participate in the electoral college for these elections. The constitution states, "The affiliate unit shall nominate only the executive members of their Unit to represent in the elections."

Due to the returning officer's declaration of both factions in Maharashtra as "ineligible," neither Maharashtra nor Tripura will have representatives in the elections. Tripura has been disaffiliated since 2016.

Brij Bhushan Singh, who is a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh's Kaisergunj, cannot contest the elections because he has already served the maximum permissible term of 12 years as an office-bearer under the National Sports Code. As a result, Prem Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Singh have been chosen to represent the UP state unit. However, these elections occur amidst the backdrop of sexual harassment allegations against Brij Bhushan, who was granted bail by a Delhi court last week.