Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia Join Congress Ahead of Haryana Assembly Elections

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia Join Congress Ahead of Haryana Assembly Elections

Olympic wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress on Friday as the party gears up for the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana. The dramatic turn to politics comes after Phogat quit service from Indian Railways citing personal reasons.

Earlier in the day, both wrestlers called upon Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge along with other senior leaders at his residence located at Rajaji Marg. Before this, they also called upon the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on September 4.

While Bajrang Punia has won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, Vinesh Phogat created history on her own by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to enter an Olympic final.

However, the career of this star wrestler fell into a cloud when she was ruled out of the competition for being overweight by around 100 grams above the limit in her 50-kg category. An upset Phogat then announced her retirement following the incident.

The wrestlers, who had earlier protested on January 18, accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former BJP MP and chief of Wrestling Federation of India, of sexual harassment.

In her resignation letter to Indian Railways, Phogat thanked the opportunity for serving. “Serving Indian Railways has been a memorable and proud time of my life. At this point in my life, I have decided to separate myself from the railway service and have submitted my resignation to the competent authorities. I will always be grateful to the Indian Railway family for this opportunity,” wrote Phogat on X.

Haryana Assembly Elections

The assembly elections in Haryana are due on October 5. The counting has been scheduled on October 8. Presently, Congress is negotiating a seat-sharing agreement with the Aam Aadmi Party. The discussion between the two parties is held very intensely.

With Punia and Phogat entering the Congress fold, the party’s bargaining position in these negotiations would become strong, amid unhappiness from some Haryana Congress leaders over an alliance with AAP.

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AICC’s Haryana in-charge, Deepak Babaria, confirmed that discussions with AAP are on and the INDIA bloc’s Samajwadi Party and CPI(M) too have shown keen interest to ally with Congress for the state polls.

He further said that these parties are trying to make their mark in the state, while talks with AAP are in good spirit. On the sidelines, Rahul Gandhi is said to have sought feedback from Haryana Congress members on the alliance possibilities with AAP.