The BJP has fielded Captain Yogesh Bairagi against wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat in Haryana's Julana Assembly constituency. The segment has garnered so much attention after Phogat was fielded by Congress in a surprise move.
To take on Phogat, the BJP decided to field Bairagi, a former captain of Vistara Airlines who quit the job to join politics. Bairagi, 35, is the vice president of Yuva Morcha and the son of BJP leader Narendra Kumar Bairagi. This is his debut election.
Earlier, Bairagi was credited for being actively involved in the rescue and relief operations during the Chennai floods and the "Vande Bharat" mission—a repatriation effort launched by the government during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Bairagi, who hopes to garner the support of young voters in Julana, banks on his activities as Yuva Morcha vice president to win votes. As he begins his campaign on Wednesday, Bairagi said his opponent Vinesh 'was like a sister" and has made the country proud by winning multiple medals.
"We will work hard so that the BJP wins. I appeal to the people in the constituency to show faith in me. I will be working on the model of development," Bairagi told reporters.
He added that he will file the nomination papers on Thursday.
Vinesh blasts P T Usha
Phogat has hit out at the president of the Indian Olympics Association P T Usha, stating that the picture of her interacting with Phogat, which went viral, was taken without her permission.
"I don't know what support I got there," said Vinesh in an interview with a local news channel. She added that Usha visited me at the hospital and clicked the photo.
"You are on a hospital bed, where you don't know what's happening in life outside, you are going through one of the worst phase of your life. At that place, just to show everyone you are standing with me, you click a photo and post it on social media," Vinesh accused.
She said a lot of politics was happening behind closed doors and it prompted her to quit wrestling.
