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The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, which were scheduled for July 6, have been pushed back by five days to July 11. This comes to light after complaints from several state units over affiliation issues. The current WFI Chief Brij Bhushan has been accused of sexual harassment and many top wrestlers have been calling for his arrest.
The ad hoc committee responsible for conducting the polls, headed by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, announced the decision on Wednesday after meeting with the bodies at the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) office. The panel had invited nominations from state associations for the constitution of the electoral college by June 21.
However, at least 10 state units raised "a variety of issues" before the panel on Wednesday and also received a letter from the IOA asking it to listen to the dissatisfied unit.
Committee Chairperson Bajwa said, "We received complaints from at least 10 state bodies over a variety of issues. Most complaints pertained to affiliation; some bodies said they have been sidelined, some claimed they are the ones recognized by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)."
The panel decided to extend the deadline for sending nominations to midnight of June 25 and to prepare and display the electoral college by June 28. It also decided to postpone the polls by five days to July 11 to study the cases of the complainants and decide on their eligibility.
"We want the elections to be completely fair and not draw any criticism from UWW," Bajwa continued. He added that the panel also had to postpone its decision on the Asian Games trials as it could not discuss the matter because of election-related issues.
