The Congress, which won the Mathura Lok Sabha seat last in 2004, is hoping to reclaim the constituency by pitting its own celebrity against the BJP's Hema Malini. If sources are to be believed, the Congress is all set to field boxer Vijender Singh from Mathura. However, no official confirmation has been made yet.
Mathura's Jat Factor
Mathura, where the voter base is dominated by Jats, has been won the Congress only five times since the constituency went to polls in 1951-52. The seat has been a BJP bastion since the party was led to victory by Sakshi Maharaj in 1991. With the exception of the 2004 and the 2009 elections, when the Congress's Manvendra Singh and the RLD's Jayant Chaudhary won the seat, the BJP has dominated the Mathura Lok Sabha polls. Hema Malini has won the seat twice in a row now and is hoping to make a hat trick in 2024.
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Consolidating the Jat votes had been a concern for the BJP as Hema Malini was initially an outsider. RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, who had earlier vowed never to join the BJP, was a problem area for the saffron party as he threatened to wean away the Jat votes. However, with Jayant Chaudhary in the NDA fold now, and Hema Malini having managed to cement her image as the 'Jat bahu', courtesy of her marriage to Sikh Jat actor Dharmendra Deol, the BJP looks to be a formidable force now.
Congress is now hoping to get the Jat votes with Vijender, who belongs to the community.
Vijender Singh — Congress's Jat Card
Vijender, in the past, has tried to resonate with the Jat population in the country. During the 2016 Jat protests held to demand reservations for the community, Vijender appealed for peace to his "Jat brothers" in Haryana. "I appeal to my jat brothers to maintain peace and brotherhood in Haryana. It is important for us, our families, our state, and our nation," he had said in a video message.
Vijender, who hails from Haryana's Bhiwani, joined the Congress right before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He contested the South Delhi seat but lost to the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri. The saffron party has dropped Ramesh Bidhuri this time and fielded Ramvir Singh Bidhuri in South Delhi.
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Vijender's 'Jat sports celebrity image' came to the fore again early last year when he joined the wrestlers' protest against BJP MP and World Wrestling Federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He stood with the athletes, mostly from Haryana, and urged the people of the country to support them.
Vijender has won several medals for India, including a bronze at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China.
If Vijender's candidature from Mathura is confirmed, he could pose a serious threat to Hema Malini and the BSP's Kamalkant Upamanyu.