Anurag Thakur's camp challenges exclusion from BFI electoral list

NEW DELHI: Representatives of Anurag Thakur’s camp — and other individual members of state associations whose names were omitted from the electoral college roster for the forthcoming Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections — lodged a formal protest against the decision before Returning Officer (RO) RK Gauba, a former High Court judge, on Thursday.
The RO conducted a formal hearing separately with the aggrieved parties on Thursday and considered their grievances, while instructing them to submit necessary documents proving their eligibility to contest. Gauba concluded the hearing and has reserved his decision.
The 60-member list of eligible voters — signed and approved by BFI’s incumbent president Ajay Singh — did not include Thakur’s nomination as one of the two representatives from the Himachal Pradesh boxing association (HPBA) for the March 28 elections, declaring the former sports minister “ineligible” to represent his state.
Alongside Thakur, the BFI also rejected names of Larry Kharpran (Meghalaya), Asish Kumar Saha (Tripura) and Delhi state body’s Rohit Jainendra Jain and Neeraj Kant Bhatt.
Thakur’s camp, however, remains sceptical of a favourable ruling from the BFI-appointed RO. “By presenting our case before the RO, we are merely following the course of natural justice,” a source said.
In the event of an unfavourable ruling, Thakur’s representatives and other discontented members will petition the Delhi high court on Monday for an urgent hearing, seeking inclusion of their names in the electoral college to enable their participation in the elections.