BFI secretary Hemanta Kalita, however, released another list late Wednesday night which included the former sports minister's name
Former sports minister Anurag Thakur's faction on Thursday approached Justice (retd.) RK Gauba, the returning officer of upcoming Boxing Federation of India elections, after his nomination for the polls was rejected by BFI president Ajay Singh. (More Sports News)
After their meeting with former Delhi High Court judge Gauba, Thakur's faction also said they are exploring various legal options ahead of the March 28 elections.
"We met and spoke with the returning officer today. Gave him our representation. We are quite hopeful," Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association president Rajesh Bhandari told PTI.
"We will seek court intervention if required. Anurag Thakur is a member of the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association. He has been a member since 2008," he added.
The nomination window will remain open from March 14-16.
A BFI notification, signed by Singh, on Wednesday said Thakur was "ineligible" for the federation elections as his nomination was in violation of the boxing body's constitution as well as the National Sports Code.
BFI secretary Hemanta Kalita, however, released another list late Wednesday night which included the former sports minister's name.
Former BCCI president Thakur, a BJP MP, was expected to contest for the BFI president's post.
The Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) nominated Thakur as a voter for the elections. HPBA president Bhandari, also a BFI vice-president, was the other nominated member from the state.
The final list of candidates contesting the election will be published on March 22.
The BFI also rejected names of Larry Kharpran (Meghalaya) and Asish Kumar Saha (Tripura) for the same reason and said that the two names sent by Delhi state body -- Rohit Jainendra Jain and Neeraj Kant Bhatt -- were subject to clearance from the returning officer.
The BFI, which was being run by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)'s ad-hoc committee for not holding its elections by the due date of February 2, had decided to hold its polls after the Delhi High Court stayed the IOA order.