Facing sexual harassment charges, Brij Bhushan excluded from WFI electoral rolls

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, July 26, 2023: When the new executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) takes charge next month, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh or his son will not be part of it. For, neither the former WFI president and BJP MP – who is facing charges of sexual harassment – nor his son WFI vice-president Karan Pratap found a place in the electoral college for the August 12 polls.

 

Last month in their meeting with sports minister Anurag Thakur, the protesting wrestlers – Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat – had demanded that no one from Brij Bhushan’s family should be allowed to contest the polls. They were also promised a say in deciding who occupies the key posts of president, general secretary and treasurer.

Out of Brij Bhushan’s three family members who were part of the WFI before it was dissolved by the government in April, only his son-in-law, Vishal Singh, features in the electoral college, which was finalised on Tuesday. The other son-in-law, Aditya Pratap Singh, a former joint secretary, is also missing from the list. As the president of Bihar Wrestling Association, Vishal will represent his state but it is learnt that he isn’t in the fray for any top post – including president, general secretary and treasurer.

Meanwhile, a hotelier from Haryana will represent Assam, a former Commonwealth Games champion – also from Haryana – will turn out for Odisha, and the secretary of the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) has been nominated as a representative from Gujarat.

Devender Kadian, Anita Sheoran and Prem Chand Lochab are the three names that stand out in what is otherwise a routine list of names bearing two representatives from each state association. Only those members who are included in the electoral college can contest for posts and cast a vote.

Games within

Sources told The Indian Express that it was initially proposed that Kadian would be Gujarat’s representative. However, after the state unit raised objections, his name was included via the newly-affiliated state association of Assam, where it is claimed that he is a member of a remote district unit.

Similarly, there were attempts to make Lochab, the RSPB secretary, a representative of the Rajasthan state association. However, following some resistance, he was named as one of the two delegates from Gujarat.

Odisha Wrestling Association secretary Kishor Behera said that former wrestler Anita was made a representative since their bylaws gave them an option of nominating someone from outside the state. Anita won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the 67kg weight class and is a two-time Asian medallist.

“According to our bylaws, we can name someone who is not from Odisha to be a representative of the state in the electoral college. She (Anita) is an established wrestler and we hope to benefit from her experience,” Behera told The Indian Express.

The electoral college has a total of 50 members from 25 state units. Maharashtra and Tripura are the two states that won’t get to vote. Maharashtra sent two sets of nominations from two factions, which were found ineligible by the returning officer, while Tripura has been disaffiliated by the WFI since 2016.

The deadline to nominate candidates for various posts, including the president, is August 1. Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted the following day and the final list of candidates will be released on August 7. If needed, voting will be conducted on August 12.

The elections take place in the backdrop of sexual harassment allegations against Brij Bhushan, who was released on bail by a Delhi court last week.

Courtesy: Indian Express