Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat meet Rahul Gandhi amid Haryana poll speculation
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Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat met with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi fueling speculation that the two athletes might be candidates in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.
The Congress party has so far been reticent on the matter, with AICC General Secretary in-charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria, stating that more clarity would be provided by tomorrow.
A photograph of the meeting was shared by the Congress on its official X handle, further intensifying rumors.
Both Punia and Phogat were prominent figures in the protests against former BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations in 2023.
As of Tuesday, Congress' central election committee had finalized candidates for 66 out of the 90 Haryana Assembly seats.
While the names have not yet been made public, the official candidates list is expected to be released soon.
The election for Haryana's 90 assembly seats is scheduled for October 5, with vote counting to take place on October 8.