Some of the most prominent wrestlers of India including the likes of Olympians Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and ruling party Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Minister of Parliament (MP) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for more than a month.
The protesting wrestlers have alleged sexual harassment of seven wrestlers, including a minor, as well as charges of misgovernance and corruption during his 12-year tenure as the WFI chief.
As a result of these protests against Brij Bhusan, there has been much discussion as to when the WFI will hold the elections to appoint a new chief for the organisation, to replace the accused MP.
MORE: Latest sports betting and odds
When will the WFI elections take place?
The WFI elections were initially supposed to be held on May 7, however, the Sports Ministry overruled that decision and appointed a temporary committee to overlook the institutions' day-to-day functioning.
The Ministry has decided to hold the elections for the WFI on July 4 and will accordingly draw a schedule to ensure that the necessary process is undertaken.
If the elections were not to be completed by July 4, the United World Wrestling has threatened to suspend the WFI. The International Olympic Committee also keeping an eye on proceedings.
Who will oversee WFI elections?
To supervise the elections and ensure that they are conducted in a proper manner, with all candidates adhering to rules and not trying to win the election through illegal means, the WFI has appointed Justice (Retd) Mahesh Mittal Kumar, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court as returning officer to conduct the elections.
"The IOA has to take steps forward to conduct the elections of the WFI Executive Committee and are pleased to appoint you as Returning Officer to conduct the elections of the WFI. You may consider appointing one Assistant Returning Officer and other staff to assist in conducting the elections," said IOA joint secretary and acting CEO Kalyan Chaubey in a letter to Justice (Retd) Kumar.
MORE: 1983 cricket world champions react to wrestlers' detention