In the run-up to the Haryana Assembly polls, Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Friday joined the Congress and one or both of them are likely to contest the election on the party ticket, giving an advantage to the Congress in a state where the people look up to the stars in the field of sports.
All political parties in Haryana field sportspersons to maximise their political gain. In its list of 67 candidates, BJP has declared two sportspersons Arti Singh Rao, an international skeet shooter and daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh and Deepak Hooda, former captain of National Kabaddi team as party candidate from Ateli and Meham assembly constituency.
Over some time, several medal-winning sportspersons from Haryana who have done well on the world stage have taken the electoral plunge after being wooed by political parties. 2008 Olympic bronze-winning pugilist Vijeder Singh contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket from South Delhi.
Commonwealth Gold winning grappler Babita Phogat was fielded by the BJP in 2019 Assembly polls from Dadri constituency. London Olympics Bronze medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt had twice contested from Baroda assembly seat in 2019 and again in a 2020 bye-election. Former Cricketer Chetan Sharma had contested as a BSP candidate in 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Faridabad.
As far as election results of the above sportspersons are concerned, all of them lost their election in their respective constituencies. The only successful renowned sportspersons fielded by a political party for his sporting achievements is former national Hockey captain Sandeep Singh who as a BJP candidate had won in 2019 from Pehowa Assembly seat. He was made Minister in Manohar Lal Khattar Government. However, Sandeep Singh was denied BJP ticket in this Assembly election following a sexual harassment case registered by Chandigarh police against him. Commonwealth Games Gold medalist Krishna Poonia has not contested any election in Haryana but had contested assembly election on a Congress ticket in Rajasthan from Sadulpur constituency. Poonia had won the election in 2018. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Poonia had lost to Olympic Silver Medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Jaipur Rural Constituency.
Political Observers opine that sports icons enjoy the advantage of attracting crowds. However, whether those crowds will translate into votes is another questionable. Going by the track record of the sportspersons who entered the electoral arena, it seems the vote conversion rate is poor. Probably they are unable to feel the pulse of people and have no exposure in public dealing, they added.
"Sports and politics are deeply interlinked. This is evidenced by influential politicians, their relatives or aides dominating sports federations, most glaringly the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and the increasing number of sportspersons opting for public life after ending their sports careers. In its list of candidates, the BJP has named sportsperson Arti Singh Rao, an international skeet shooter and daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh. Arti has made it to the contest purely because of her lineage and her father’s influence," said a political observer.
If Vinesh and Bajrang who joined Congress choose to jump into the electoral fray, they will neither be the first nor the last sportspersons to opt for politics as a second career. However, whether they are successful depends upon factors other than their success as sportspersons. The image of Vinesh and Bajrang being crusaders for justice could prove advantageous for the party. After all, they were at the forefront of last year’s agitation by wrestlers, mostly from Haryana, against former Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations that he sexually harassed female wrestlers. Also, there has been an upsurge of public sympathy for Vinesh after she missed a medal at the recent Paris Olympics. So Vinesh & Bajrang being crusaders for justice besides being sportspersons might prove advantageous for Congress in the long run, a senior political analyst said.
Vinesh likely to contest election while Bajrang to campaign for Cong
Congress sources indicated that Vinesh Phogat is likely to contest Assembly election from Julana constituency while Bajrang Punia is unlikely to be fielded in this election and will campaign for the party in this Assembly election.
After joining Congress, Vinesh said that she is very proud of joining a party that is ready to fight against the atrocities on women. "I want to thank the people of the country for supporting us in our wrestling journey. I want to thank the Congress party. When we were being dragged on the roads, all the parties except BJP were with us. They understood our pain, our tears. I am feeling very proud that I am joining such a party which is ready to fight against the atrocities being done against women. The party is ready to fight the battle from the roads to Parliament," Vinesh added.
Bajrang Punia said that he will work hard to strengthen the Congress party and the nation. He also targeted the BJP, accusing it of supporting those who commit atrocities against women. “What BJP IT Cell is saying today is that we just wanted to do politics...We had written to all women BJP MPs to stand with us but they still didn't come. We are paying to raise the voices of women but now we know that BJP stands with atrocities against women, and all other parties stand with us. We will work hard to strengthen the Congress party and the nation,” he added.
Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist, while Vinesh Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final. She was, however, disqualified after being found overweight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in. She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport. Punia and Phogat were also part of the protest by wrestlers over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year.
