WFI elections: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections are all set to be held on July 6. This was notified in a statement by returning officer Mahesh Mittal Kumar, who is the former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. This comes a day after Kumar was appointed as the returning officer by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
After his meeting with protesting wrestlers on June 7, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, had said that WFI elections will be conducted by June 30 but it was clear that this deadline will be difficult to follow because a 21-day notice is required to call the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the WFI.
Disputes within state bodies
It has been learnt that a few state bodies, dissolved by the WFI in the past, have staked their claim to participate in the elections. "Two different state bodies in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Kartanata have sent names for inclusion in the voters list for the WFI elections. The returning officer will decide their fate," said a source in the IOA ad-hoc panel, managing the WFI affairs.
WFI had dissolved Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra at its Executive Committee meeting in June 2022 for various reasons, including "corruption and mismanagement".
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Will Brij Bhushan's relatives/supporters contest?
Sports Minister Thakur had assured the wrestlers that the government will not allow any of the family members or associates of outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to contest elections, following which the wrestlers had halted their stir till June 15.
The WFI has 25 affiliated units, including union territories Chandigarh and Delhi. Each state unit can send two representatives and each representative shall have one vote.
So, the electoral college for the WFI elections will consist of 50 votes. The state units can nominate only those representatives who are members of their executive bodies, according to the WFI constitution.
(With inputs from PTI)
