Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia met Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. There is speculation that they may contest the Haryana Assembly elections on October 5 on a party ticket. They may resign from their current posts, ANI reported.
Earlier, after returning from the Paris Olympics, Vinesh Phogat met former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda, who said that the Congress welcomes anyone willing to join the party. Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia also met Congress General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal in New Delhi on Wednesday. The veteran wrestler retired after being disqualified for being overweight ahead of the gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is aiming for a third consecutive win in the Haryana elections, while the Congress wants to wrest power from the ruling party.On Saturday, the Election Commission of India rescheduled the Haryana assembly election dates, extending the polling date from the previously scheduled October 1 to October 5. Vinesh joins farmers protest at Shambhu border Vinesh Phogat recently joined farmers at the Shambhu border, where the farmers’ protest demanding a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) entered the 200th day on August 31.
When asked if she would contest the election if the Congress fielded her from Haryana, the Indian wrestler said, “I don’t want to talk about it. I have come to meet my family members (farmers) and if you twist it, their fight and struggle will be wasted. The focus should not be on me, but on the farming community. I am a sportsperson and a citizen of India; elections are not my concern. My only focus is on the welfare of farmers,” Vinesh Phogat told reporters. Earlier, former Haryana chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda had downplayed speculations of former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat joining the Congress, terming it a “hypothetical question”.