New Delhi: The meeting between the renowned wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia with the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday, has sparked intense speculations about Vinesh’s potential contest in the Haryana Assembly polls on a Congress ticket. This significant event has drawn widespread attention and interest.
Their meeting comes a day after the Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) convened to finalise the list of candidates for the October 5 elections.
It is learnt that Congress may offer either the Charkhi Dadri or Julana seat to Vinesh Phogat, both of which are significant constituencies in Haryana.
Sources said the CEC has shortlisted 59 candidates, comprising 27 of the party’s 28 sitting legislators, amid talks of the Congress having a pre-poll alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Commenting on the ongoing speculations regarding Phogat’s political future, Deepak Babaria, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Haryana, said that the final list of candidates would be released by September 4.
However, he made it clear that the meeting did not include any discussion on Vinesh or Bajrang’s candidature, adding to the suspense and anticipation surrounding the issue.
Sources said that AAP is demanding at least 10 seats, while Congress is offering only seven, a point of contention in the potential alliance between the two parties.
However, the ruling BJP in the state launched a scathing attack on the potential alliance between Congress and AAP, saying, “It is the weaker organisation that feels the need to make compromises,” a criticism that reflects the BJP’s stance on the potential alliance.
Vinesh Phogat, 29, who missed out on an Olympic medal in Paris after being disqualified for being slightly overweight hours before her final match in the 50 kg category, has been meeting with Congress leaders since her return from Paris. In fact, Deepender Hooda, a congress MP from Rohtak, was the first politician to arrive at IGI Airport in Delhi to welcome her.
Vinesh Phogat met Deepender Hooda, his father, two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and her wrestler husband Somvir Rathee at the Congress leaders’ residence in Delhi on August 23.
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Vinesh Phogat had also joined protesting farmers at the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab and Haryana border on August 31. When asked about contesting the Haryana elections, she replied: “I will not talk about politics. I have come to meet my family.”
With as many as 2,556 leaders expressing their interest in getting tickets for the polls, the Congress is actively finalising the names, sources said.
The elections in Haryana are scheduled to take place in a single phase on October 5, with the votes to be counted on October 8.
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–IANS
