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The Congress on Friday inducted Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia and is said to be considering fielding them in the coming Haryana Assembly elections.
The two wrestlers, who joined the party at the Congress headquarters, are from the Jat community. A significant number of Haryana’s farmers are Jats and the community has been up in arms against the BJP over the demand for a legal guarantee of a Minimum Support Price (MSP). On Wednesday, the two Olympians met the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. A source said consensus had emerged within the party about Phogat’s candidature.
By bringing Phogat and Punia on board, the party is looking to expand its support base among women, sportspersons, and the youth, apart from consolidating Jat votes.
AICC in-charge for Haryana Deepak Babaria on Tuesday said a decision on Phogat’s candidature would be “announced soon”.
The Congress is reportedly considering the Julana and Badli seats – both with a significant Jat population – for Phogat. While the Congress’s Kuldeep Vats represents Badli, Julana is held by Amarjeet Dhanda of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). A source in the Congress in Delhi said while Phogat could contest from Julana or Dadri, Punia was eyeing Badli.
Since Phogat returned from the Paris Olympics on August 19 — after being disqualified ahead of her gold medal bout because she exceeded the permissible weight limit — Congress leaders have been at her side. She was accorded a grand welcome by Congress MP Deepender Hooda at the Delhi airport while Haryana Assembly LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he would nominate her to the Rajya Sabha if he had the numbers.
In what could be a worrying development for the BJP, the wrestler also announced her support for the protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri on the Haryana-Punjab border.
By inducting Phogat, who had been the face of the wrestlers’ protests against former BJP MP and ex-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brj Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Congress will also try to corner the BJP over the government’s inaction against the former MP.
However, sportspersons have not had good outings in the political field in Haryana. Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogatwho were fielded by the BJP in the 2019 Assembly polls, bit the dust, losing the Baroda and Charkhi Dadri seats respectively. Dutt is now reportedly eyeing the Gohana seat.
Of the sportspersons, only former India hockey captain Sandeep Singh tasted victory from Pehowa. He was subsequently inducted into the Manohar Lal Khattar Cabinet as Sports Minister but was dropped by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini after allegations of sexual harassment against him surfaced. A former coach who had levelled the allegations is reportedly keen to contest the Pehowa seat if Singh is fielded but it is unlikely that the former hockey player will make the cut.
International boxer Vijender Singh, who finished third from South Delhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate and subsequently switched over to the BJP, is seen to be keen on contesting the Haryana polls as he traces his roots to the village of Kaluwas in Bhiwani district.
