Olympics wrestler Vinesh Phogat, after winning her debut election in Haryana on Tuesday, said she would continue her political journey as voters had blessed her.
Though her party Congress failed to win in Haryana, Vinesh Phogat won from Julana seat. Speaking to reporters, she said it would not be possible to continue with wrestling alongside her work as a politician. "Now that I have entered here, I will continue here. People have given me their love, I will have to work for them on the ground," she said.
#WATCH | Jind: Congress’ winning candidate from Julana, Vinesh Phogat says, “Now that I have entered here, I will continue here. People have given me their love, I will have to work for them on ground. It is not possible to work on both simultaneously (politics and wrestling).” pic.twitter.com/ThBvEVDuni
— ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2024
The wrestling champ struggled in the early rounds before finally winning against her BJP rival. The Congress, however, trailed far behind the BJP after an initial surge. At 3.30 pm, the BJP has won and leads in 51 seats, while the Congress has won 14 seats and is leading in 20 seats, as per Election Commission figures. The counting of votes polled in the October 5 Haryana elections began at 8 am on Tuesday.
Vinesh Phogat defeated the BJP's Captain Yogesh Bairagi, a former Army officer, and former professional wrestler Kavita Dalal from the Aam Aadmi Party – a member of the opposition bloc INDIA at the centre – with a margin of more than 6,000 seats.
At the Paris Olympics this year, Ms Phogat suffered a shock disqualification after she did not qualify for her weight category ahead of the Gold wrestling bout.
Last year, she was an integral part of the protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was then a BJP MP and was accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers during his term as the Wrestling Federation of India chief.
The elections in Haryana are the first major direct contest between the BJP and the Congress after the Lok Sabha polls.
