Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia join Congress ahead of Haryana assembly polls

Ending all speculations over their political plans, top Indian wrestlers Barang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress today, ahead of the Haryana assembly elections in October this year.

However, there is no confirmation yet on whether they will be contesting the assembly polls. The party said that the decision will be taken by its election committee. Reports suggest that Phogat and Punia are being considered for Julana and Badli seats.

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Punia and Phogat met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary K.C. Venugopal at the former's residence in Delhi earlier today. The duo had met Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi on September 4.

Earlier in the day, Phogat had resigned from the Indian Railways, citing personal reasons. She was employed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with Northern Railways.

Last week, Phogat had joined the farmers' protest at the Shambhu border in Haryana, where the farmers had been agitating for months seeking legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price for all crops. She has been a vocal supporter of the famers' demands.

The 30-year-old quit wrestling following her disqualification from the freestyle 50kg category final at the 2024 Paris Olympics for being overweight by 100g during the weigh-in ahead of the gold medal match. She had appealed against the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but her plea was rejected.

Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist. The duo were at the forefront 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.

Congress has cleared the names of candidates for 66 seats out of 90 till September 3. The party is in seat-sharing talks with the Aam Aadmi Party.

Voting will be held on October 5 and the counting on October 8.