Boxing Federation of India to hold much-delayed elections on 3 February

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) will hold its much-delayed elections on 3 February. The process has been due since September last year but postponed twice citing the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay eventually led to the Uttar Pradesh Amateur Boxing Association seeking Delhi High Court’s intervention in the matter. The court had asked BFI to submit its election schedule after hearing the petition last month. In the hearing conducted on Friday, February 3 was finalised as the fresh date of holding the elections. “…elections will be held as per the schedule on 3 February, 2021. All parties have accepted the schedule provided by the BFI,” stated a press release from the federation. The elections were to be conducted on 18 December at an AGM at the federation headquarters in Gurugram. Incumbent President Ajay Singh has been challenged by former Mumbai Cricket Association president and BJP leader Ashish Shelar for the president’s post. Shelar filed his nomination papers on 2 December after being included in the BFI electoral college. The 48-year-old Shelar is a former sports minister of Maharashtra. He is also a former chairman of the Mumbai District Football Association, that has 350 clubs under its wings. He is currently an MLA from the Bandra West constituency. Singh took charge in 2016 following elections conducted under the supervision of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). “I welcome the Court’s instruction not to delay the elections any further under one pretext or another as we need to get our house in order in the year of the Olympics,” Shelar said in a statement after the fresh development.