Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified during the Paris Olympics, is likely to join the Congress and may contest the ensuing assembly elections from Haryana. This was not unexpected.
Phogat along with another Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia met the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi recently.
The two wrestlers are likely to formally join the Congress in the coming days and fight the assembly elections on the party ticket.
Senior Haryana Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is strongly batting for the two wrestlers to contest on the Congress ticket and has reportedly made a strong case during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting.
Phogat was at the forefront of the agitation demanding action against the then Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment. Singh has been repeatedly denying these allegations, alleging that these were politically motivated.
When she was disqualified from the Paris Olympics for being overweight for her “weight category” and prevented from going for the final bout, there was a wave of sympathy in her favour across the country, more so in Haryana, the state she belongs to.
The ‘Jaat Khaps’, also came to her support and honoured her after she returned to India. She was accorded a red carpet despite being disqualified. Congress Rohtak MP and Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son Deepinder Hooda received her and stood in the open vehicle she travelled in during the public reception.
Phogat’s taking the political plunge may help the Congress in further consolidating its support among the Jaat community, which has a dominant say in Haryana politics. It can also have a counter effect of “reverse-consolidation” among the non-Jaat votes.
It was already expected that Phogat may eventually join the Congress and contest the elections. The Paris disqualification could not have come at a better time for her as it generated a lot of sympathy in her favour, which the Congress wants to capitalize on now in the elections.
Like everywhere, in politics also, every action has an equal consequent reaction. Phogat was given a clean chit over her disqualification from the Paris Olympics and all the blame for her being overweight was shifted on others. But once in the electoral battle, she may have to answer many questions.
Follow us
