The year 2024 has been a rollercoaster for Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat. She faced disappointment after missing out on a medal in the Olympic final, and soon after, she transitioned into politics. Vinesh is now running in the Haryana Assembly elections from Julana, Jind district, and early trends show her leading against BJP’s candidate, Yogesh Bairagi.
Vinesh, originally from Charkhi Dadri, made headlines when she joined the Congress party after returning from the Olympics, where she was disqualified from the women’s 50 kg freestyle wrestling final for being 100 grams overweight. Prior to her disqualification, she had defeated four-time world champion Yui Susaki of Japan. Despite this setback, Vinesh’s move into politics has drawn attention. Interestingly, she follows in the footsteps of her cousin Babita Phogat, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 Assembly elections.
Vinesh’s main competitor in the Julana constituency is BJP’s Yogesh Bairagi, a former Indian Army captain and commercial pilot. Bairagi played a significant role during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping rescue stranded Indians from abroad and also contributing to relief efforts during the Chennai floods. Currently serving as the president of BJP’s Haryana youth wing, Bairagi is expected to give Vinesh a strong challenge in the elections.
Vinesh Phogat’s political entry comes at a time when women wrestlers in Haryana are looking to her for change. Many hope that if she succeeds, Vinesh will be appointed as the state’s sports minister, helping to revitalize wrestling arenas (akhadas) across the state. These training centers, once filled with young athletes aspiring to win medals and secure government jobs, have seen a decline in activity after protests against sexual harassment in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Vinesh, along with other top wrestlers like Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, led protests against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, demanding his resignation for allegedly harassing junior women wrestlers.
Julana, part of the Jind district and considered the heart of Haryana, is an important political battleground. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Julana seat was won by Amarjeet Dhanda of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) with 61,942 votes. The constituency is a general seat and is not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), or Other Backward Castes (OBCs). According to the 2001 census, Julana had a population of 15,561, with males making up 53% and females 47%.
The results of the Julana constituency, along with 89 others, will be announced on October 8. All eyes are on this contest as Vinesh Phogat looks to make her mark in both politics and sports in the future.
