FORMER UNION SPORTS MINISTER Anurag Thakur has been declared ineligible to participate in the upcoming Boxing Federation of India elections.
Thakur’s name was notably absent from the electoral college list released ahead of the August 21 polls. The BFI’s interim committee, instituted by World Boxing and headed by incumbent BFI president Ajay Singh in what is a clear conflict of interest, scrutinized the nominations, excluding Thakur’s name due to “constitutional infractions”.
The Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) had put forth Thakur (who has no previous administrative experience in running boxing) and Rajesh Bhandari as its representatives for the crucial meeting, which aims to elect new office-bearers for the 2025–2029 term.
As detailed by the interim committee led by Fairuz Mohamed, Thakur’s candidacy violated Articles 20 (iii) and (vii) of the revised BFI Constitution, as he lacks elected status within HPBA and holds a public office. Meanwhile, similar violations led to the disqualification of Delhi’s Rohit Jainendra Jain.
Amidst these disqualifications, HPBA’s Bhandari is challenging the legitimacy of the constitutional changes enforced without executive approval.
