Mr. Raninder Singh was re-elected as the president of the NRAI for the fourth term  

Shillong, Sept 19: Seasoned administrator Mr. Raninder Singh was on Saturday re-elected as the president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for an unprecedented fourth term after he beat BSP MP Shyam Singh Yadav.

The general body election of the National Rifle Association of India, was held on 18 September, 2021, at 11AM, at the IS Bindra. Cricket Stadium, Mohali, Punjab.

The NRAI had representation from 59 of its members, out of whom 56 voted in favour of  Shri. Raninder Singh, while 3 votes were cast in favour of his opponent Yadav, who is the president of the Uttar Pradesh State Rifle Association.

Kanwar Sultan Singh was elected unopposed as the secretary general of the national shooting body, while Randeep Mann has been made the treasurer. Odisha MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo also elected unopposed will continue to be the federation’s Senior Vice-President while there was election for the post of eight Vice-Presidents.

 

Pawan Kumar Singh will remain the apex body’s joint secretary alongside Sheila Kanungo after both were elected unopposed to the post. The NRAI decided to go ahead with the polls despite the impediments it faced after the petition filed by challenger Yadav in the Delhi High Court, followed by the sports ministry’s directive to initiate elections afresh.  Yadav is a Lok Sabha, MP from UP’s Jaunpur constituency.

However, the NRAI went ahead with the elections as scheduled, as the court refused to issue a stay on the elections.   The matter is pending with the Delhi High Court with the next date scheduled in December.   In his petition, Yadav cited “perceptible conflict of interest” in the appointment of the returning officer for the polls, Mehtab Singh Gill.

Prior to the elections the General Body was addressed through virtual mode by Vladimir Lisin, President International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) who appreciated the tremendous efforts of President NRAI for his tremendous contribution towards promotion of shooting sports both in India and internationally.

Raninder said, “This election was not about the chair but about its basic capability to be autonomous, yet at the same time not be violative of a National Sports Code we genuinely welcome and voluntarily follow.

“Indeed, the strength the code provides us, has and will continue to support us in presenting clarity and strength to discharge our duty to the sport and its athletes. But more importantly, not allow shadowy mentors of dubious challengers to politicise.”

Nonetheless, he was “honoured and humbled” that the members have “reposed faith” in his leadership. “Together we have achieved a lot for Indian shooting and the time has now come to take it to another level,” he added.

A total of eight vice-presidents were elected which included Ajay H. Patel, Amit Sanghi, Ashok J.Pandit, Ashok Mittal, John Kharshiing, Putul Kumari, Sushma Singh and Verinder Kumar Dhall.

For the post of honourary secretary, Susheel, Ishwar Rohal, Kumar Tripurari Singh, Meghasham Shripad Bhangle, Moirangthem R. Singh and R.Ravikrishnan were also elected unopposed.

Sixteen members of the governing body were also elected, the Members include  Akash Nangia, Amarjang Singh, Ananta Kumar Sen, Atul C Barot, Gusti J Noria, Kunti Malik, Merang Jamir, Neil Sootinck, Paramdeep Singh Gill, Rajiv Atam Ram, Ritesh Chakraborty, Rupak Debroy, Salalith Tottempudi and Sharat Chander Singh, VC James and VL Hruaizela Khiangte.

The elections were conducted by Returning Officer Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill as well as Additional Returning Officer Justice (retd) Inderjeet Singh Walia.

Chander Mukhi Sharma, the secretary general of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) was present as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) observer while Athletics Federation of India president Adille J Sumariwalla was present as the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) observer. Former world No.1 trap shooter and Olympian Ronjan Sodhi was also a part of the election process as an “eminent sportsperson observer”.

Speaking after the declaration of the election results, the new secretary general Kanwar Sultan Singh said, “I am thankful to the members of the NRAI general body for entrusting me with the responsibility of carrying forward the federation’s vision of taking the sport shooting to new horizons. “Our next goal is to analyse the unexpected Tokyo 2020 performances and learn from them in order to create a roadmap for Paris 2024.”

 

What Next?

Recent Articles

Leave a Reply

Submit Comment

*

Where to buy Vidalista Professional 20 Mg (Tadalafil) tablet