WFI Elections: None of the family members of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will contest the election

Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Monday said that no member of his family will contest the upcoming WFI elections to the National Institute of Sports, but reiterated that his faction will be supported by 22 state federations.

Also Read: WFI Elections: Brij Bhushan and his son Karan out of the voter list for WFI electoral rolls

The WFI elections will be held on August 12 and the last date for filing nominations is July 31. BJP MP Brij Bhushan has claimed that 22 out of 25 state units participated in the meeting hosted by him on Sunday. He also visited the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) office on Monday (July 31), the last day of filing nominations for the WFI elections.

"Today is the last day of nominations, members from 22 state associations were here and they came to meet and are now going for filing their nominations. There is no one from my family. Let the elections happen first and then whoever wins will do their work." Brij Bhushan said.

The country's top six wrestlers, including Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat, had accused Brij Bhushan of alleged sexual harassment. He also staged a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar. However, Brijbhushan is not eligible to contest as he has completed 12 years as the head of the national federation, which is the maximum period for holding office under the National Sports Code.

Moreover, Brij Bhushan Singh's son Karan is also not part of the voter list as Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had promised the wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar that no member of the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's family would contest the WFI elections. Brij Bhushan's son-in-law Vishal Singh (president of the Bihar Wrestling Federation), who is being considered as WFI's successor for the top post, will also not contest for any top post in the elections to be held on August 12.

Also Read: IOA states the wrestling contingent for the Asian Games selection will be done before the team leaves for China

Brij Bhushan's candidates will face a challenge from the rival faction which is reportedly holding meetings at various places here. The meeting was reportedly attended by the state units of Assam, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh.