CHENNAI: After several rounds of meetings including one with Union home minister Amit Shah in the last 24 hours, sidelined Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh chose Sanjay Kumar Singh as one of his panel’s candidates for the president’s post. Olympian Jai Prakash is another candidate for the same post from his camp. They have filed nomination papers for all 15 posts. The rival faction, too, has filed but not for all positions as they do not have as many candidates.
Sanjay, who hails from Varanasi, is a big landlord and has stakes in almost all agribusiness in eastern Uttar Pradesh. He is seen as a staunch supporter of Brij Bhushan. Currently, he is the vice president of the UP Wrestling Association and joint secretary of the WFI. “We are confident that our panel will sweep the polls if elections take place... I will try to carry the legacy forward if elected,” Sanjay said.
In the rival camp is Dushyant Sharma, who attended Brij Bhushan’s meeting on Sunday. He filed his nomination for president and so did Anita Sheoran, who is a witness in the sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan. Another name from this camp is Prem Chand Lochab, secretary of the RSPB. He is said to have filed for the post of secretary. Hotelier and BJP leader Devender Kadyan has apparently filed papers for a senior VP’s post.