Thakur cannot contest BFI election

Former sports minister Anurag Thakur’s bid to become the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president suffered a big blow after he was barred from taking part in the elections. The returning officer, Justice (retd) RK Gauba, has decided that the electoral roll submitted by BFI president Ajay Singh will be used for the March 28 Annual General Meeting (AGM) that will elect the new BFI executive.

Justice Gauba had to take this call after two separate lists — one by Singh that had excluded Thakur and another by secretary general Hemanta Kalita — were shared with him for the AGM. The faction led by Singh excluded Thakur’s name as he is not part of the Himachal Pradesh state unit’s elected executive body. The other faction had included the Hamirpur MP’s name as part of

the electoral college.

Quoting the rules and regulations of the BFI constitution, Justice Gauba said Singh’s list had primacy over Kalita’s submission.

“... The electoral college list prepared by Mr Kalita, the incumbent secretary general of BFI cannot be acted upon in view of the unambiguous rules vesting in him ‘the overall powers of supervision’ over the working of BFI and also responsibility to ‘oversee office bearers/members of EC’. The secretary general by the very nature of his position and duties allocated by the R&Rs is in charge of the administration but acts in terms of the direction of the president,” Justice Gauba wrote in his report on Thursday.

“... He cannot assume the role so as to simultaneously press his own list before

the RO only because R&Rs use the expression president/secretary general. The latter may have a role to play if former was amiss in action in such regard to undermine the authority of the president. In taking this view the reference may be R&Rs of the BFI as indeed the model election code which provided for primacy to the views of the president over that of the secretary general in the matters of nominations to the electoral college. Thus it is concluded that the electoral college list published by the president on 12.03.25 shall only be used for further process of these elections,” he added.

Thakur’s was not the only omission from the list that was published by the BFI after Justice Gauba’s report. It excludes two names sent by the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association. Further, two names sent by Rupak Debroy to represent Tripura at the AGM have been dropped from the list as Debroy is not recognised as the state body’s president. Meghalaya’s representative Larry Kharpan will also be excluded from taking part in the election.