Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has been elected as the new president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
He won the election held at the Constitution Club of India, receiving 36 votes against his opponent, VK Dhall, who secured 21 votes.
Kalikesh, a former Member of Parliament from Odisha, has been acting as the caretaker of the NRAI since last year.
This role became necessary after the previous president, Raninder Singh, resigned due to new regulations from the government’s National Sports Code, which limits the term of national sports federation heads to 12 years.
Raninder Singh had served as president for over 12 years, from December 29, 2010, to December 29, 2022.
He stepped down in April 2023, leading to Kalikesh’s appointment as the interim leader. During his time as caretaker, India achieved significant success in shooting sports, winning three bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, marking a welcome improvement after failing to medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Kalikesh will hold the presidency until 2025, when the next general body meeting of the NRAI is scheduled.
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