Haryana Assembly Polls: Congress Fields Wrestler Vinesh Phogat From Julana Constituency

Hours after wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress on Friday (6 September), she was given a ticket by the party to contest the Haryana elections.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were the central figures in the wrestlers' protest against alleged sexual exploitation and intimidation by then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, joined the Congress on Friday.

After joining the Congress, Phogat said, "I thank the people of the country and the media, you supported me throughout my wrestling journey. I thank the Congress party, it is said tough times tell you about who is with you. When we were dragged on the roads, all parties except the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and tears".

Phogat said she felt proud that she was with a party and an ideology that stood against injustice on women and was ready to fight the battle from the streets to Parliament.

Later in the day, Congress announced the list of 31 candidates for the Haryana polls, which featured Vinesh Phogat as party candidate from Julana constituency.

Further, the party announced that that former state chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will contest from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal.

Mewa Singh of the Congress will challenge the sitting Chief Minister and BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini in the Ladwa constituency.

Surender Panwar will contest from Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT.

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