The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) is set to conduct its long-awaited elections on Saturday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here following a directive from the Delhi High Court.
This marks a crucial step toward restoring an elected governing body after a period of interim governance.
A total of 66 representatives from 33 states and union territories affiliated with VFI will vote to elect a new governing body.
Twenty-nine candidates are contesting for 12 key positions, including five seats on the executive committee.
These include: President (1), Vice Presidents (2), Secretary General (1), Treasurer (1), Joint Secretaries (2), and Executive Committee Members (5).
The presidential race will see Anand Shankar Rajhans (Bihar), Prem Singh Bajor (Nagaland), and Virender Kanwar (Himachal Pradesh) face off.
For the post of secretary general, the candidates include Mohammad Akram Khan (Chhattisgarh), Nilesh Vishnu Jagat (Maharashtra), and Ramanand Choudhary (Rajasthan).
Hari Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Prakash Borah (Assam) will contest for treasurer's post, with six candidates in the fray for the two joint secretary posts and 11 for the five executive committee positions.
Voting will be conducted from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, followed by counting at 3:30 PM. The election is being overseen by Justice P. Krishna Bhat (Retd.), appointed as the returning officer by the court.
Reflecting on the interim phase, Rohit Rajpal, chairman of the VFI ad-hoc committee, said, "In the absence of an elected body, the ad-hoc committee worked relentlessly to maintain stability and drive progress in Indian volleyball." He added, "India's recent silver medal at the CAVA Men's Nations League — after victories over Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan — marks a significant achievement. Our global ranking has jumped from 168 to an estimated 45." To ensure full transparency, observers from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) will monitor the proceedings.
The FIVB delegation present for the elections will include: Steve Tutton, FIVB General Sports Director; Stephen Bock, FIVB Head of Legal and General Counsel; Hitesh Malhotra, FIVB Head of Volleyball Empowerment and NF Relations.