New Delhi: The Congress party is likely to provide clarity on whether ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat will contest in the Haryana elections by Tuesday, party general secretary Dipak Babaria said, following a meeting of the AICC central election committee on Monday. Sources told Times Now that Phogat has been offered to run from two seats in Haryana: Charkhi Dadri and Julana.
Currently, the party is focusing on convincing Phogat to contest the assembly elections. Notably, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda has been in touch with Phogat, with discussions held with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as part of the efforts on Monday, they added.
#BreakingUpdate | #Haryana assembly elections#TimesNow has accessed the inside scoop from the Congress camp: – ‘Vinesh Phogat has been considered for 2 seats.’Both the Charkhi Dadri and Julana seats have been offered to Vinesh Phogat. For Congress, the major focus is to… pic.twitter.com/b0XShHIcB4
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 3, 2024
However, the Charkhi Dadri seat has also witnessed competition within the Congress, with leaders Ajit Singh Phogat and Somveer Sanghwan also staking their claims and even beginning their campaigns.
A few days back, Vinesh Phogat joined protesting farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana and urged the central government to address their demands and prioritise resolving their issues.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha held a 'kisan mahapanchayat' to mark 200 days of their ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation, which has been pushing for demands including a legal guarantee for MSP. Farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, after their march was halted by security forces.
When Vinesh Phogat was asked about her intentions of entering politics, she said, “I will not speak on this, I will not talk about politics. I have come to my family. If you talk about this, you would waste their struggle and fight. The focus is not on me today. The focus should be on the farmers, I request this. I am an athlete, I belong to the entire country. I have nothing to do with which state is going to the polls. All I know is that my country is suffering, farmers are in trouble. Their issues should be resolved and it should be the first priority of the Government to resolve this.”
At the Paris Olympics, Phogat was disqualified from the 50 kg gold medal bout after being found 100 grams overweight. Later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed her petition to be awarded a joint silver medal. She announced her retirement from wrestling on August 8, a day after her disqualification.
Since her return home, there has been widespread speculation about her possible entry into active politics, following in the footsteps of her cousin Babita, who is a BJP MLA.
Vinesh was also involved in the protest led by wrestlers, mostly from Haryana, against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, who faced allegations of sexual harassment last year. Recently, she was honoured with a gold medal by the Sarvkhap Panchayat in Haryana's Rohtak.
She was part of the agitation by wrestlers, mostly from Haryana, against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brijbhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment last year. A few days ago, she was honoured with a gold medal by the Sarvkhap Panchayat in Haryana's Rohtak.
Haryana Elections
The elections in Haryana are scheduled to take place in a single phase on October 5, with the counting of votes set for October 8. Notably, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the polling date for the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5, and also moved the vote counting for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assemblies from October 4 to October 8.