Pankaj Singh, a Noida MLA for the BJP, is expected to be named the Cycling Federation of India (CFI)’s president on Saturday after emerging as the only contender.
In addition to Pankaj, each of the other 24 members of the CFI executive council will be chosen without opposition at the election meeting on Saturday in Nainital, Uttarakhand. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, a former Punjab minister, will be replaced by him. Parminder has served three terms (12 years total since 2011) as the head of CFI, making him unable to run for re-election under the Sports Code. In April of last year, Pankaj, the son of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, resigned from his position as president of the Fencing Association of India, citing his “commitments as a legislator” in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. As the only candidate for the position, incumbent Maninder Pal Singh will also be chosen to serve a second straight term as secretary general. Kerala native Sudeesh Kumar will serve as treasurer.