Haryana | Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia join Congress ahead of Assembly polls

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress on Friday in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary KC Venugopal.  

Both of them met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. The Congress had put out a photograph of Gandhi with Phogat and Punia on its official X handle.

Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist, while Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified after being found over weight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in. She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.

Punia and Phogat were part 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.

The Congress and AAP are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the Haryana Assembly polls with hard bargaining from both sides.

Voting on 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8. 

With agency inputs