With barely a month remaining for Haryana Assembly elections, speculations are rife that wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia may contest the polls in Congress tickets. The rumours gained strength after the wrestlers met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday morning.
The Congress took to X to post about the wrestlers' meeting with Rahul. Though neither the party nor the wrestlers have made any statements regarding the speculations, a Congress source told The Indian Express that Phogat and Punia would soon meet Congress general secretary K C Venugopal. "An announcement on their candidature is likely soon," the unnamed source added.
Interestingly, both were part of the protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment.
It was Phogat's meeting with Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda that triggered speculation about a possible political stint for the wrestler. The MP had arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to welcome her on arrival from Paris. She later met former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who shared images of his meeting with the two-time world championships bronze medallist on his official account on X.
On whether Phogat would make a political entry, Hooda, however, gave an evasive reply, stating that the decision was hers. "An athlete does not belong to any particular party or state. An athlete belongs to the entire nation. She belongs to the entire nation. It is her choice whether she joins any party or not. Whoever comes to Congress party, we always welcome him or her. It is her decision what she wants to do," Hooda told reporters.
Congress's Haryana affairs in-charge Deepak Babaria too refused to address the speculations on whether the Central leadership had got in touch with Phogat. "If any of our leaders have approached her, I do not know. But if she wants to fight, she will be welcome… If she wants to contest, certainly we will accommodate her.”
The party has cleared the names of candidates for 66 seats out of 90 till Tuesday and the names are expected to be out in a day or two.