In her first electoral battle, Vinesh Phogat has secured victory for the Indian National Congress in the Julana assembly constituency in Haryana. She won around 65,080 votes and defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Captain Yogesh Kumar by a margin of over 6,000 votes. Congress had recorded defeat in the Jat-dominated seat in the last three assembly elections and has won only four times since 1967.
Alongside Yogesh Kumar, Vinesh also defeated Julana’s incumbent MLA and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Amarjeet Dhanda. The results of the Haryana Assembly elections were announced on Tuesday, October 8.
The wrestler-turned-politician had quit the sport after she was disqualified from competing in the gold medal match at Paris Olympics 2024 due to variations in her weight. Many believed that Phogat was “deliberately defeated” in the Paris Olympics, while the wrestler had alleged that the Union government did not provide her with enough assistance.
She filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) requesting for a shared silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez, who she defeated in the semi-finals. On behalf of Vinesh, four lawyers in Paris filed a protest appeal at the CAS pro bono. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was an interested party and had sought additional time to appoint a lawyer for the appeal. After days of deliberation, however, CAS dismissed the appeal.
Later on September 6, along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, Vinesh joined the Congress party. She said that she did not resign from wrestling during the protest at Jantar Mantar to inspire little girls and women with her wrestling. “The whole country believed that I would [retire during the protests] because the BJP IT cell tried to prove that we are trouble makers, that we are finished, that we are just doing politics,” she said.
Vinesh and Bajrang were among the prominent Indian wrestlers leading the protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of multiple counts of sexual harassment. The protests, held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last year, were met with horrific police brutality.
At the time of the protests, Vinesh had said that Brij Bhushan, who is also a BJP MP, had subjected her to mental harassment to the point she had struggled with suicidal ideation. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president and veteran athlete PT Usha had, at the time, accused the protesting wrestlers of “tarnishing India’s image.”
At the time of her retirement, Vinesh had said, “A lot of people asked me not to retire. But for what purpose should I continue wrestling? There is politics everywhere. So let us do politics for the betterment of our children, so that we will be able to stand by them.”
