NEW DELHI : Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who joined Congress along with fellow Wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday, said that she was proud to join a party that stands with women. “I am proud to have joined a party that stands with women and is ready to fight for them from sadak se lekar sansad tak (from road to Parliament). I stand with every woman who finds herself helpless,” Phogat said.
On September 4, it became clear just a few days after the two wrestlers met party leader Rahul Gandhi that Vinesh and Bajrang Punia could join the Congress party. Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, along with Sakshi Malik, were among the wrestlers who protested against the then BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly threatening and sexually harassing several female wrestlers.
The issue resonated during the Lok Sabha elections and is likely to become a major issue in the Haryana assembly elections. A BJP MP, on the condition of anonymity, admitted that Vinesh can create problems for the BJP not only in Julana but also in the state. After returning from Paris, she has become an icon of the country. She will benefit from this.
According to sources in congress ,Vinesh Phogat can contest from Julana seat of Haryana. While a safe seat is being searched for Bajrang Punia. Julana is the seat of Amarjeet Dhanda of Jan Nayak Janata Party. Earlier, Vinesh Phogat was expected to contest from Charkhi Dadri but she has decided to contest from Julana. Vinesh’s cousin wrestler Babita Phogat has contested from BJP in 2019 from this seat, although she lost. This time BJP has refrained from making Babita Phogat a candidate from Charkhi Dadri. BJP has made Sunil Sangwan a candidate who recently resigned from the post of Jailor of Haryana Jail and joined BJP. As a jailor, Sangwan had helped controversial religious guru Ram Rahim to get parole from jail eight times. Sangwan is being said to be Ram Rahim’s candidate.
Meanwhile, former wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat, who is Vinesh Phogat’s cousin, said in a tweet (X) after not getting the party ticket that “The party is bigger than the individual and the country is above everything.” The party is bigger than the individual and the country is bigger than the party. This is my party’s message to everyone! I stand by the decision of the top leadership of my Bharatiya Janata Party. Being a dedicated party worker, I will continue to discharge all the responsibilities given to me by the organisation.”Balali village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri district has gained a special place because of the Phogat sisters. The Phogat sisters have been called ‘Golden Sisters’ due to the international success they have achieved in the last decade. The presence of Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda at the IGI airport on Vinesh’s return from Paris is also a testimony to the fact that the Congress was keeping an eye on them. The Congress wants to take advantage of their popularity.
Babita Phogat had accused the protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh, Punia and Sakshi Malik, of agitating for political gain at the behest of the Congress before the Lok Sabha elections. But after that, the Phogat sisters found themselves politically divided after starting their wrestling journey together from the same coach and the same village.
If the Phogat sisters were pitted against each other in Haryana, it could have led to an interesting contest between the sisters. But it was not so. The rivalry between the Phogat sisters started when Vinesh opened a front against the then Wrestling Federation of India president and former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023. Vinesh had accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment. The ruling BJP had to face embarrassment due to the sit-in protest of women wrestlers at Jantar Mantar, the support of the opposition and the police action on the women wrestlers. Even at that time Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta stood firmly with the protesting wrestlers. While Babita decided to maintain distance saying that the movement was politically motivated.

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