The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) on Wednesday (March 12) rejected former sports minister Anurag Thakur's nomination for inclusion in the electoral college for its March 28 elections, citing ineligibility to represent Himachal Pradesh.

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The Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association had proposed Thakur and vice-president Rajesh Bhandari’s names for the electoral college. However, after scrutiny, the BFI finalised a 60-member list and excluded Thakur for non-compliance with its March 7, 2025, notice and the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.

"The State Unit had sent Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur’s name, but he was found ineligible due to a violation of the BFI’s notice dated 07.03.2025 and the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011," the BFI said in its explanation.

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The March 7 notice had mandated that only bonafide and duly elected members from a state association’s election AGM—officially recognised by the BFI—would be eligible to represent their respective states or union territories. "Since Mr. Thakur is not an elected member of the Himachal Pradesh state body, his nomination was rejected," a BFI source said. "It is the BFI’s responsibility to scrutinise all nominations and forward the list of eligible candidates to the Returning Officer, who will now upload the final list."

Similarly, the BFI rejected the nominations of Larry Kharpran (Meghalaya) and Asish Kumar Saha (Tripura) for the same reason. It also noted that the names submitted by the Delhi state body—Rohit Jainendra Jain and Neeraj Kant Bhatt—were still subject to clearance from the Returning Officer.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had earlier appointed a five-member ad-hoc panel to oversee boxing operations in India after the BFI failed to conduct its elections on time. However, on March 4, the Delhi High Court stayed the IOA’s order, ruling in favor of the BFI, which had challenged the move as "arbitrary and illegal."

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The BFI was originally required to hold elections by February 2, 2025.

(With inputs from agencies)