Days after World Boxing announced an interim committee to run the operations of the Indian federation under its most recent president Ajay Singh, 27 of 37 affiliated units on Tuesday called for an election on an urgent basis. The tenure of the elected body of BFI with Singh as president and Hemanta Kalita as secretary general expired on February 2, but elections have been delayed due to various legal disputes. “Ajay Singh has tried his tactics to stall the elections and undermine the constitution of the federation. We have been asking him to set his ego aside and figure out a resolution, but there has been no response,” Kalita told reporters on Tuesday about the president along with whom he held office since 2016. The elections, originally scheduled for March 28, had been paused by Returning Officer RK Gauba after orders from the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh High Courts. Both courts ordered him to include the names omitted from the Electoral College, including that of former union sports minister Anurag Thakur. The Himachal Pradesh High Court also directed the sports ministry observer and the Returning Officer to issue a fresh election schedule before April 28, when the case is set to be heard next. “He (Singh) ran the federation like a corporate office, and his methods were dictatorial. In the executive committee meeting, we asked to conduct the nationals on time, but he never heard us,” alleged former BFI treasurer Digvijay Singh. Indian boxers returned empty-handed from last year's Paris Olympics and former BFI vice-president Rajesh Bhandari also felt that the president under whom he worked was largely to blame. Apart from no medals, Nishant Dev was the only male boxer to qualify for the Games. “He never took any inputs from the executive committee regarding selection and the coaching staff. His policies have resulted in our poor performance at the Paris Olympics,” Bhandari claimed. When asked when elections will be held, Kalita said, “We expect that he (Singh) will follow the recent order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and won't put any hurdles.” Singh didn't respond to the allegations. Interim panel's decisions The interim committee, formed by the world body to run BFI affairs, met virtually on Tuesday to discuss Indian boxers' participation in international tournaments. It also decided to restart the national camps and conduct all the domestic competitions. Selection of coaches and support staff for the national coaching camps will also be done soon, it said. The six-member panel, led by Singh, includes former BFI Vice-President Narender Kumar Nirwan, Executive Director Arun Malik, Olympian L Sarita Devi and Singapore Boxing Association president Fairuz Mohamed. A member of the panel is yet to be nominated by the Indian Olympic Association President.
