In Bajrang Punia’s village, people unimpressed about his politics debut but Vinesh finds sympathy

“Punia is young and he should have encouraged other wrestlers in Khuddan as well as the state instead of joining politics,” 70-year-old former government servant Asmaal Singh said.

The Badli seat, under which Khuddan falls, has an almost 40% population of Jats and is currently represented by Congress’ Kuldeep Vats, a Brahmin, who in the 2019 polls defeated Dhankhar – a Jat by over 11,000 votes. All 90 seats of the state go to the polls in a single phase on October 5. Both Vats and Dhankhar have been nominated by their respective parties for the upcoming polls.

Claiming that a majority of Jats in the village vote for the Congress due to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Samunder Pehalwan said his village provided daily essentials to protesting farmers but no such thing happened when Punia was leading the protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the protest assumed a “political colour”.

The Congress, however, has raised the wrestlers’ protest in Badli during its campaign with Hooda last week saying “our wrestler daughters are yet to get justice even as Vats, in the same meeting, slammed Dhankhar for staying mum even as “wrestlers were assaulted with shoes and dragged”.

Punia’s entry into the Congress and his subsequent appointment as the working president of the All India Kisan Congress has also not gone down well with his fellow wrestlers. Accusing Punia of having “no affection” for his village, Paramjit, who had once trained with him, said: “When he was meeting the CM, ministers and other senior bureaucrats, he should have asked them to develop facilities for wrestlers in the village. I hope now he will work for the wrestlers of the village and the state.”

Young wrestlers train in the indoor stadium in Bajrang Punia’s village of Khuddan in Haryana. (Express photo)

However, Paramjit believes the government should have intervened when Phogat was disqualified. “It did not do so. Earlier, they manhandled wrestlers during the protest in Delhi. It was unjust and the BJP paid the price as they lost five Lok Sabha seats,” he said.

Local coach Sukhdarshan, who trains young wrestlers from the village, said Punia’s visits to the village since he left it at the age of 16 have reduced. “Earlier, he at least visited the village once in a while. In 2021, he had come when then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar felicitated him for his bronze medal victory in the Tokyo Olympics,” he said pointing out that former Bharat Kesri Narendra Pehalwan often visits the village to “guide” youngsters.

Khuddan, which houses four akhadas including an indoor one, was brought into the spotlight as it was here Punia honed his wrestling skills as a youngster in a “desi akhada” on the outskirts of the village. Despite its rich wrestling background, the 20-odd youngsters who train in the 12-year-old indoor Akhada are forced to wrap up before dusk as it does not have electricity. While the power inverter and cooler were stolen in the absence of a security guard, faeces of pigeons are spread all over the mat that the wrestlers use.

Another villager Satender Singh, a self-proclaimed BJP supporter, has another bone to pick with Punia. “He should work for the Jat community and become its leader before joining any party,” he said.

Not far from Badli town in Ladpur, wrestlers are upset with the BJP over Phogat’s disqualification and its inaction on the former WFI chief. “I suspect something fishy in Phogat’s disqualification. Also, the government has not yet taken action against Brij Bhushan. In fact, they BJP gave his son (Karan Singh) a ticket and he is an MP now. This amounts to misuse of power,” wrestler Rocky Gehlawat said.

On the other hand, Dhankhar’s son Ashutosh was quick to dismiss the impact of the wrestlers’ protest as well as the induction of Punia and Phogat into the Congress. “Nobody is talking about this. The wrestlers were felicitated when my father was minister. Punia’s village has seen development under my father. No wrestler is against us here,” he said.

The BJP also seems to be banking on Congress rebel Ajit Singh Gulia, who has thrown his hat in the ring as an Independent after being denied a ticket. Gulia, who claims to be a “gau bhakt (worshipper of cows)” as he runs gaushalas, may damage the prospects of the Congress as he enjoys the support of the Khap Panchayat, which is seen to be influential in 30 villages of the constituency.