Haryana Assembly polls: Vinesh Phogat starts poll campaign from Julana

Chandigarh: Commencing her campaign for the forthcoming assembly election on Sunday, wrestler and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat stated she anticipates winning each battle with the support of the public.

Phogat (30) has been fielded from the Julana assembly segment for the upcoming assembly poll.

Polling in Haryana will take place on October 5 while the counting of votes for the elections to the 90-member assembly will take place on October 8.

Phogat was accorded a warm welcome when she reached Julana as her supporters, including elderly people and women and members of various 'Khaps', greeted her with garlands and gave their blessings.

The Congress had on Friday released its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, naming her among the party candidates.

Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress.

Standing atop a car, Phogat took the blessings of people who surrounded her four-wheeler to get a glimpse of her. Amid beats of a 'dhol', her supporters chanted 'Vinesh Phogat zindabad.' Replying to a question on former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Phogat said, "Brij Bhushan is not the country. My country stands by me. My loved ones stand by me and they matter to me." Brij Bhushan on Saturday alleged that Phogat and Bajrang Punia were used by the Congress as "pawns" in a "conspiracy" to take control of the WFI and attack the BJP.

To a question, Phogat said, "My loved ones supported me. Like they ensured victory in wrestling (during her sports career), they will continue their blessings here (electoral contest) and with their blessings, we will win every battle." Replying to another question, she said the pain of not getting an Olympic medal subsided that very day when the citizens of the country showered love on her after she landed at the airport.

"I have to reduce their (people) pain and it is my responsibility," she added.

"I am 30 years old and I have come through many challenges. When people are with you, one can overcome any challenge," Phogat said.

Replying to another question on contesting the elections, she said, "I am feeling happy and I will try to live up to their expectations." Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified in Paris after being found overweight by about 100 grams in her 50-kilogramme category weigh-in.

She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.

While the wrestler hails from Balali in the Charkhi Dadri district, her in-laws' home town is Julana.

With PTI inputs