Vinesh Phogat's Political Dangal

A JCB loader, tattooed with a 바카라�No Farmers, No Food바카라� sticker, stood waiting for newly-inducted Congress leader Vinesh Phogat. Its metal bucket, filled with rose petals, was poised in readiness, as paeans in honour of the wrestling champion echoed from loudspeakers.

바카라�Sarkar samajh mein aayi na, chhori ke sapne maar diye... Karo swagat sherni ka, ladke aayi se바카라� (The government didn바카라�t understand and killed the girl바카라�s dream. Welcome the tigress coming home after the fight),바카라� the loudspeakers blared.

These were the scenes at a jan sampark rally in Kheema Kheri village of Haryana바카라�s Julana constituency, where multiple Commonwealth Games medal winner, Phogat, is contesting the upcoming assembly elections on October 5. Elderly men in turbans, khap (clan-based councils) members and women swathed in dupattas filled the venue. As Phogat바카라�s convoy arrived, young girls and budding wrestlers were pushed forward to greet their 바카라�role model바카라�. The music switched to the cheerful Congress campaign song: 바카라�Vinesh Phogat aagyi re (Vinesh Phogat has arrived).바카라�

After steering through the highs and lows of 바카라�Olympic바카라� proportions and locking arms with opponents on wrestling mats, Phogat has now embraced politics and stepped into its dusty pit of electioneering.

A rasp in her throat after six days of rallying has not slowed down the spring in her step or dulled the zeal with which the athlete has been campaining. Banking on her marital ties to a wrestling family in Bakhta Khera, Phogat moved swiftly through the crowds, seeking blessings as 바카라�Julana바카라�s daughter-in-law바카라�. She told voters, 바카라�Julana ki bahu ki izzat aapke hath mein hai... Apni chori ko jittaow (The honour of Julana바카라�s daughter-in-law is in your hands. Help me win)바카라� Describing Julana as her 바카라�karambhoomi (place of work),바카라� Phogat vowed to make the region proud, just as she did with her 바카라�janam bhoomi (place of birth).바카라�

In return, she promised more opportunities and avenues for sports, especially for young girls. She promised safety at the workplace and on the roads and the construction of stadiums and training institutes. 바카라�Haryana is brimming with talented girls and youth who want to make a big name in sports. They possess the willpower and strength but lack financial support or government backing. I will ensure that changes,바카라� she said. She also promised cleaner water, better roads inside villages, regular electricity and gas cylinders at reduced rates.

According to local Congress workers, a faction initially expressed frustration over older party members in the region being bypassed for a 바카라�political outsider바카라�, as Phogat was seen as the 바카라�Hooda camp바카라�s choice바카라�.

Congress heavyweight and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, projected by many as the CM face despite Congress바카라� no-naming-names policy, defended her selection. He described the ticket given to Phogat not as a political move but as a 바카라�token of gratitude바카라� and a 바카라�morale booster바카라�, after she was controversially disqualified from the women바카라�s 50 kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics for narrowly missing the weight requirement by a few grams.

In her rallies, local Congress cadres are pitching Phogat not just as an MLA but as a 바카라�minister바카라�. 바카라�She will surely win this seat and if the Congress wins, she could become the next sports minister. I will not be surprised if she becomes a chief ministerial face in the future,바카라� says Kuldeep Dalal, a Congress worker from Shamlo Kalan village in Julana. Dalal, who has been canvassing for the party for two years, says that over 80 potential candidates were in the running, but he believes Phogat was chosen for her popularity as an athlete among the voters. 바카라�She has returned from the Olympics. The whole world knows her, and the youth interested in sports think she can help highlight the state internationally,바카라� he adds.

Phogat바카라�s political debut became clear after her return from Paris, when she was welcomed by Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda. The Congress바카라� grand roadshow in her honour overshadowed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even though it had declared that she would be treated like an Olympic silver medallist.

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Born in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, Phogat hails from the state바카라�s first family of wrestling. She is one of the renowned 바카라�Phogat sisters바카라�, which includes her cousins Geeta, Babita, Priyanka and sister Ritu. She was raised and trained by her coach and paternal uncle, Mahavir Phogat, who joined the BJP in 2019 along with Babita, who was once considered for a ticket by the saffron party. The BJP eventually overlooked her candidature, both then and now. The family has now reacted negatively to Phogat바카라�s political entry, with Babita accusing Bhupinder Singh Hooda of 바카라�breaking바카라� the family and Mahavir expressing his disapproval. 바카라�It바카라�s too soon,바카라� he said, adding, 바카라�She should have concentrated on the 2028 Olympics and won that first.바카라�

After the Olympics fiasco, Vinesh Phogat had tweeted about retiring from wrestling바카라�a sport she practiced for 24 years바카라�and then soon after announced her candidacy. Dismissing her critics, Phogat asserts that her fight is not just for herself, but for the rights and dignity of women athletes across the country who 바카라�remain shackled due to sexism and male preference, gender roles at home, lack of safety for women and societal expectations바카라�.

바카라�As someone who has faced alienation from the sporting community as well as the full might of the government바카라�s wrath, I can assure that if I win, other women in sports won바카라�t face what we faced,바카라� she promised young girls at rallies in Julana. She added that once she had faith in the government, but now the BJP had assaulted everyone바카라�farmers, women wrestlers, village heads and government employees. 바카라�This election is the chance to avenge them all and do justice by voting the BJP out,바카라� she dares.

Last year, Vinesh Phogat joined wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia in a nearly six-month-long protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP leader, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually abusing women athletes. In May 2023, the protest at Jantar Mantar was violently dispersed by the Delhi Police, with images of weeping athletes resisting police batons drawing international condemnation. Singh recently criticised Phogat바카라�s political entry, claiming that the move began two years ago, referring to the protests. However, the BJP has reportedly asked him to refrain from commenting on Phogat or other wrestlers during the Haryana polls.

Phogat is pitted against the BJP바카라�s Captain Yogesh Bairagi, a former commercial pilot and ex-Army man, and the Aam Aadmi Party바카라�s (AAP) Kavita Dalal, also a wrestler and native to the region. To counter Phogat바카라�s Julana ki Bahu pitch, Dalal has branded herself as Julana ki Beti (Julana바카라�s daughter). Phogat바카라�s prowess and show of strength during the Olympics and the wrestlers바카라� protest seem to have given the Congress candidate an edge. The AAP바카라�s ongoing issues in Delhi also appear to be hampering Dalal바카라�s campaign. Meanwhile, Bairagi, vice president of the BJP바카라�s youth wing in Haryana and co-convener of the sports cell, is relying on his youth appeal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi바카라�s popularity.

During the door-to-door campaigning in Sundarpur village, Bairagi approached elderly voters with emotional appeals like, 바카라�Voting for me means voting for Modi. If you love Modi, you should vote for me.바카라� He also referred to Phogat as his 바카라�sister바카라� and stated that while she had made the state proud as a wrestler, the BJP was the right choice for governance. 바카라�I am honoured by the party바카라�s faith in me. I promise to create more jobs and industry in the area, especially in the field of sports,바카라� he said.

Belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) community, Bairagi hopes to consolidate the 바카라�pichda바카라� (backward) voters who form the second-largest demographic in the state after Jats, and are followed by the Scheduled Castes (SCs). Other candidates include Jannayak Janta Party바카라�s (JJP) sitting MLA Amarjeet Dhanda and retired Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Surender Lathar of the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) alliance. After 10 years of ruling the state, the BJP is nevertheless facing a wave of anti-incumbency across Haryana, fuelled by the farmer protests, wrestlers바카라� protests and memories of the Jat agitation.

In Julana assembly constituency, which is currently held by the JJP, there seems to be little support for the BJP. Despite major Congress leaders and even her wrestling companions, Malik and Punia, remaining conspicuously absent from her campaign, Phogat appears to have garnered local support and sympathy, even from some of the BJP바카라�s supporters. For instance, Pushpa Devi, a resident of Julana, says that though the BJP바카라�s push towards cashless transactions and digitisation has helped some farmers, it has rarely won this seat.

Aspiring wrestler Tamanna Mouan, who turned 18 this year and will be voting for the first time, was eager to meet Phogat. Voicing issues faced by women athletes, she says, 바카라�There is only one decent training facility in Jind district. The training costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per month. The other institutes either don바카라�t have resources or trained coaches.바카라�

Hisar-based wrestling coach Jagdish Sheoran says that more girls are participating in sports and family attitudes are changing. He believes an acclaimed sportsperson becoming an MLA could improve the state바카라�s sport infrastructure. 바카라�It isn바카라�t enough to just build institutions or start schemes. Implementation is the key,바카라� he says. At the Nidani Sports School, where he coaches Mouan, the mood was cheerful. 바카라�Vinesh Phogat is our inspiration,바카라� quips young wrestler Kashish Tyagi.

Rishi Raj, a panchayat member from the Sikh and SC-dominated village of Ashrafgarh, says the community will vote for the candidate who chooses 바카라�people over power바카라� and avoids tokenism with marginalised groups. 바카라�We do not want to be called 바카라�Harijans바카라� by political leaders only to be neglected. We need leaders who will work on the ground. This is Phogat바카라�s sasuraal (in-law바카라�s house), so she will be obligated to come here, even if she is a celebrity.바카라�

Prakashi, a daily wager from the SC community in Ashrafgarh, says, 바카라�In our village, we don바카라�t have clean drinking water. We have to walk five kilometres to get water. Electricity is also erratic, with long power cuts.바카라� Sudesh from the OBC-dominated Govindpura, adds, 바카라�The condition of roads is pathetic. So far, leaders from the BJP have not visited us, and we don바카라�t really know the other parties바카라� candidates.바카라�

Bedo Devi from Shamlo Khurd village supports Phogat because 바카라�women should also get a chance바카라�. 바카라�Why should only boys become leaders, chief ministers and prime ministers?바카라� the elderly voter asks, adding, 바카라�We should let girls fight. Because they fight to win.바카라�

Rakhi Bose in Julana, Haryana