Four candidates have filed their nominations for the presidential post of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). As stated by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, no members from outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan's family have contested the elections.
As per the "List of validly nominated candidates after scrutiny" uploaded on the WFI website, Sanjay Kumar Singh from Uttar Pradesh, a close aide of Singh, has filed a nomination for the president post alongside Jai Prakash (Delhi), Dushyant Sharma (Jammu and Kashmir) and Anita Sheoran (Odisha).
Anita, who is in the running to become the first woman president of the WFI, is also reportedly a witness in the sexual harassment cases levied against Singh. Singh, a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh's Kaisergunj, is facing multiple charges of sexual harassment and is currently on bail. He is not eligible to contest in the WFI elections as has completed 12 years as an office-bearer, which is the maximum term allowed as per the National Sports Code.
Sports Minister Thakur, in a meeting with the protesting wrestlers in June, had assured them that no member of Singh's family would contest in the elections. Accordingly, Singh, who is the president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling body, and his son Karan, who is a vice president in the same state body, will not compete in the elections. Singh's son-in-law Vishal Singh, president of the Bihar Wrestling Federation, is also not participating in the elections.
However, Vishal maintained that Singh's camp would win the elections. "Eighteen nominations have been filed from our side. Our candidate for the post of president is Sanjay Kumar Singh. We have filed (nominations) for three vice presidents," Vishal was quoted as saying by PTI. It is believed that as many as 18 nominees are from Singh's camp.
Presidential nominee Sanjay Singh said he had "full confidence" that his panel would win all the posts. "100 per cent we will win all the seats," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
The WFI elections, which were initially to be held on July 4, are now scheduled to be held on August 12. The elections were first delayed because the Returning Officer was not appointed, after which the Assam Wrestling Association filed a petition in the Gauhati High Court to further delay the elections.
The delay in elections invoked a stern warning from United World Wrestling (UWW), who threatened to suspend the WFI if the elections were not held as per the initial timeline. However, the UWW has issued no statement since then.
Here is the full list of nominated candidates for the 2023 WFI elections -
President:
Sanjay Kumar Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Jai Prakash (Delhi) Dushyant Sharma (Jammu and Kashmir)
Anita Sheoran (Odisha)
Senior Vice President:
Asit Kumar Saha (West Bengal)
I. D. Nanavati (Gujarat)
Devender (Assam)
Vice President:
Hamza-Bin-Omer (Telangana)
Kartar Singh (Punjab)
N. Phoni (Manipur)
Asit Kumar Saha (West Bengal)
Jai Prakash (Delhi)
Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh)
Secretary General:
Darshan Kal (Chandigarh)
Jai Prakash (Delhi)
Prem Chand Lochab (Gujarat)
Treasurer:
Satya Pal Singh Deshwal (Uttarakhand)
Dushyant Sharma (Jammu and Kashmir)
Joint Secretary:
R.K. Purushotham (Andhra Pradesh)
Rohtash Singh (Haryana)
Bellippady Gunaranjan Shetty (Karnataka)
Kuldip Singh (Himachal Pradesh)
Executive Member:
M. Loganathan (Tamil Nadu)
Neivikuolie Khatsii (Nagaland)
Rakesh Singh (Haryana)
Ummed Singh (Rajasthan)
Prashant Rai (Chhattisgarh)
Rajnish Kumar (Jharkhand)
Srinivasa J (Karnataka)
Ratul Sharma (Assam)
Ajay Vaid (Jammu and Kashmir)
Kuldip Singh (Himachal Pradesh)