Anurag Thakur Barred Yet Again From BFI Elections! Name Omitted From Electoral College
Anurag Thakur is ineligible for the Boxing Federation of India elections due to BFI Constitution violations. The elections are on August 21, per World Boxing's deadline.
Former Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has once again been ruled ineligible to contest the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections, after his name was left out of the official electoral college published on Wednesday for the upcoming polls scheduled for August 21.
The Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) had nominated Thakur—also a sitting Member of Parliament—and its President Rajesh Bhandari as delegates for the federation's Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM will play a decisive role in electing the BFI's office-bearers for the 2025–2029 term.
However, the interim committee currently overseeing BFI affairs, formed by World Boxing in April, has excluded Thakur from the 66-member electoral college after a round of scrutiny.
Violation of BFI Constitution Cited
According to the interim panel led by Fairuz Mohamed, Thakur's nomination was found to violate Article 20 (iii) and (vii) of the revised BFI Constitution, which was formally approved by World Boxing on May 18.
Clause (iii) stipulates that a nominee representing a State or Union Territory association at the AGM 'shall be an elected member of that association during the election AGM duly notified to BFI and in the presence of a BFI observer." Thakur is not an elected member of the HPBA, which automatically disqualifies him under this provision.
His name had also been disallowed from the now-scrapped March 28 elections, citing the same grounds—although that decision was then based on an internal directive issued by then-BFI President Ajay Singh. That directive has now been incorporated into the officially approved BFI Constitution, further solidifying its legal standing.
Clause (vii) of Article 20 adds another layer of ineligibility by barring 'Government servants or persons holding a public office" from being nominated. Thakur, as a Member of Parliament representing Himachal Pradesh, falls under this category as well.
Other Nominations Rejected; Legal Challenges Continue
In a similar development, the nomination of Rohit Jainendra Jain from the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association was also rejected on the basis of violating Clause (iii), as he is not an elected member of his state body.
The HPBA, for its part, has not backed down. Its President Rajesh Bhandari recently stated that the association had filed a legal suit contesting the validity of the constitutional amendments. According to Bhandari, the changes made by the interim committee were executed without the approval of the Executive Council, raising questions about procedural legitimacy.
Election Timeline and World Boxing's Deadline
The current BFI leadership's tenure ended on February 2, and elections were originally planned for March 28. However, ongoing legal disputes—including multiple appeals and counter-appeals—led to the process being suspended.
In the meantime, World Boxing—the global governing body that temporarily took charge of BFI operations—has set a firm deadline of August 31 for the completion of elections, making the August 21 vote critical for the federation's administrative future.
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August 06, 2025, 21:51 IST
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