New Delhi | The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday set the ball rolling for conducting Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on July 4 by appointing former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar as the returning officer, who will decide which rival faction within the state bodies participates in the polls.

IOA CEO Kalyan Chaubey communicated Justice Mittal Kumar about his appointment and sought his acceptance for the role.

"IOA has to take steps forward to conduct elections of the WFI Executive Committee and we are pleased to appoint you as a returning officer to conduct the elections of the WFI. You many consider appointing one assistant returning officer and other staff to assist in conducting the elections," Chaubey wrote in the letter.

"Elections are required to be conducted in the SGM of the WFI called on 4th July and the schedule of the election will be required to be drawn accordingly. We look forward to your confirmation of acceptance and also smooth conduct of elections of the WFI on July 4." Sources, however, said Justice Mittal Kumar can decide the date of the SGM and the elections on his own and it will be up to him to hold the polls on July 4 or a few days later.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, after his meeting with protesting wrestlers on June 7, had said that WFI elections will be conducted by June 30 but it was clear that this deadline will be difficult to follow because a 21-day notice is required to call the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the WFI.

The elections can be conducted either at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or SGM.

DISPUTE WITHIN STATE BODIES

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It has been learnt that a few state bodies, dissolved by the WFI in the past, have staked their claim to participate in the elections.

"Two different state bodies in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Kartanata have sent names for inclusion in the voters list for the WFI elections. The returning officer will decide their fate," said a source in the IOA ad-hoc panel, managing the WFI affairs.

WFI had dissolved Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra at its Executive Committee meeting in June 2022 for various reasons, including "corruption and mismanagement".

"The erstwhile Haryana state body, led by Congress leader Deepender Hooda, was dissolved for violation of sports code as the President and secretary RK Hooda had completed their terms," said a source privy to the developments in the past.

"Both Deepender and RK Hooda had held their posts for more than 12 years. Also Haryana, despite being a big wrestling state, was not doing enough as a state body.

"It did not hold any National Championship after 2010. There was zero activity by them, there were several complaints. So, following due procedure, that body was dissolved." Rohtas Singh and Rakesh Singh were elected President and secretary respectively in the new state body.

The source added that in Maharashtra and Karnataka, issues of corruption were reported.

"Maharashtra struck a private deal with a sponsor for conducting a tournament, which is not wrong but it did not share the details with the WFI because corruption was reported. When WFI tried to dig details and sought response, the state body did not respond. Subsequently, their affiliation was withdrawn and a new body was floated." "In Karnataka, the state body was not concerned about the welfare of wrestlers. It was not even paying for the entry fee of the wrestlers in the Nationals and was not even arranging their travel tickets, forget about giving TA/DA, which is state body's job."

WILL BRIJ BHUSHAN'S RELATIVES/SUPPORTERS CONTEST? =====================================

Sports Minister Thakur had assured the wresters that the government will not allow any of the family member or associates of outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to contest elections, following which the wrestlers had halted their stir till June 15.

The WFI has 25 affiliated units, including union territories Chandigarh and Delhi.

Each state unit can send two representatives and each representative shall have one vote. So, the electoral college for the WFI elections will consist of 50 votes.

The state units can nominate only those representatives who are members of their executive bodies, according to the WFI constitution.

It remains to be seen what happens if the eligible candidates associated with Singh file their nomination for the elections.

Singh's son Karan was vice president in the previous WFI setup and is also associated with the UP wrestling association. His son-in-law Vishal Singh is the president of the Bihar Wrestling Association.

They are both eligible to contest as state body representatives.