Ajay Singh faces challenge from Bhandari and Olympian Jaslal Pradhan for BFI President’s post

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) chief Ajay Singh, who is eyeing a third consecutive term as president, will face former vice-president Rajesh Bhandari and Olympian Jaslal Pradhan in the much-delayed elections, scheduled for August 21.

Singh, representing Uttarakhand, was this time proposed by the Chhattisgarh and Bihar state units, unlike in March when the Uttarakhand body had put his name forward before the process was stalled.

Bhandari, president of the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA), and Sikkim Amateur Boxing Association chief Pradhan, who competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in the light welterweight category, are the two other contenders for the top post.

The elections will be held during BFI’s Annual General Meeting.

Bhandari has also thrown his hat in the ring for the secretary and vice-president’s posts, the latter he held in the previous term.

Other candidates for the post of secretary include Uttar Pradesh’s Pramod Kumar, former treasurer Digvijay Singh of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi Amateur Boxing Association (DABA) chief Neeraj Jain, and Kerala’s Sooraj NK.

Digvijay and Sooraj have also filed nominations for the treasurer’s post, along with Odisha’s Anil Kumar Bohidar, Puducherry’s R Gopu and Tamil Nadu’s Pon Baskaran.

Eight zonal vice-presidents and an equal number of joint secretaries will also be elected.

The scrutiny of the nominations will take place on Wednesday, while the publication of the list of valid nominations and withdrawals are scheduled for August 14 and 17 respectively.

Former Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was again expected to contest for the president’s post, with HPBA nominating him as its representative. But his name was missing from the 66-member electoral college released by the World Boxing-appointed interim committee managing Indian boxing’s day-to-day affairs.

His nomination was deemed in violation of Article 20 (iii) and (vii) of the BFI Constitution, which was revised by the Interim committee in May.

Clause (iii) requires nominees to be elected members of their state units, while clause (vii) bars serving government servants or public office holders. Thakur, a sitting MP, is neither an elected HPBA member nor eligible under the new rules.

Thakur had been disqualified on similar grounds in March, when then BFI chief Singh issued an office directive barring unelected members from contesting.

DABA, HPBA, and Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat boxing associations had earlier this month moved court asking for a stay on the polls. They also challenged the amended constitution, urging the court to pass an order to proceed with the elections in line with the old BFI rules.

The Delhi High Court has sought BFI’s response while clarifying that the polls should be “subject to the outcome of the present writ petition” as it posted the matter for August 18.