Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are set to join the Congress on Friday (September 6) weeks ahead of the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls. The development comes two days after the two ace wrestlers met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Both wrestlers have also reportedly resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier today.
Punia and Phogat, who were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023, will be joining the India National Congress at 2:30 pm today, according to a report by India Today.
It is speculated that either Phogat or Punia, or both of them can contest the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls 2024 on Congress' ticket. "Whether one of them will contest or both would contest would become clear soon," news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
Speaking on Punia and Phogat's move to join Congress, wrestler Sakshee Malikkh said, "...It is their personal choice to join the party. I believe that we should make sacrifices. Our agitation, the fight for women should not be given a wrong impression."
When asked if she would also join the political outfit, she said, "From my end, the agitation continues...I too had received offers but I wanted to see what I started till the end. Unless the Federation is cleaned and the exploitation of women ends, my fight will continue...The fight is genuine and it will continue..."
Both wrestlers met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday, following which Congress put out a photograph of the Raebareli MP with Phogat and Punia on its official X handle. After the meeting, the move to star Olympians joining the political party was widely speculated.
Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist, while Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified after being found overweight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in. She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.
Meanwhile, the Congress and AAP are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the Haryana Assembly polls with hard bargaining from both sides. Voting on 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8.