No one from my family is contesting WFI elections: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh | More sports News – Times of India
Brij Bhushan, a BJP MP, stated that 22 of 25 state units attended a conference he convened on Sunday, and that “his candidates” for various federation elections on August 12 will be named on Monday.
Brij Bhushan paid a visit to the Indian Olympic Association office here on Monday, the last day of nominations for WFI elections.
“Today is the last day of nominations, members from 22 state associations were here and they came to meet and are now going for filing their nominations. There is no one from my family,” he said.
“Let the elections happen first and then whoever wins will do their work.”
Brij Bhushan, against whom the country’s six top wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, have leveled allegations of sexual harassment and sat in protest at Jantar Mantar, is ineligible to contest because he has served as head of the federation for 12 years, the maximum allowed by the National Sports Code.
Brij Bhushan’s son Karan is also not in the electoral college because Sports Minister Anurag Thakur told protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar that no one in the BJP leader’s family would run in the polls.
Furthermore, the BJP leader’s son-in-law Vishal Singh (President, Bihar Wrestling Federation), who was widely tipped as his successor for the top WFI job, would not run in the August 12 election for any top position.
Brij Bhushan’s candidacy may encounter opposition from opponents, who reportedly held their own gathering at a different venue in the national capital.
The state units of Assam, Odisha, and Himachal Pradesh are said to have attended the meeting.
(With inputs from PTI)
