Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestling coach, is unhappy with the decision of wrestler and his niece Vinesh Phogat to contest elections from Haryana. Dronacharya Awardee Mahavir Singh Phogat has said that Vinesh Phogat has been misled by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Hooda and his MP son Deepender Hooda to stand in the elections. He also objected to Vinesh’s recent statements, in which Vinesh made sharp comments on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) using the Congress election symbol ‘hand’.
It is noteworthy that Vinesh had recently said in a statement that the Congress election symbol hand will act as a slap on the BJP government and they will get a befitting reply in the elections on October 5. Reacting to this, Mahavir Singh Phogat said, “The use of such language is extremely wrong, it should not be tolerated.”
Mahavir Phogat also expressed concern over Vinesh joining politics and said that it was not her decision. He pointed out that leaders like Deepender Hooda and former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda have pushed Vinesh into politics for political gain. Mahavir Phogat supported Babita Phogat’s statement that Vinesh was brought into politics as part of a conspiracy by the Congress. He said that the public expected Vinesh to compete in the 2028 Olympics and bring a gold medal for the country.
Mahavir further said, “When he protested last time, it was not politically motivated but now Deepender Hooda and Bhupinder Hooda pushed him into politics. My wish was that he wins a gold medal in the 2028 Olympics. I am against this decision, I don’t know how this decision was taken.”
It is worth noting that on September 6, Olympic wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress, giving a big support to the Congress. Congress has given a ticket to Vinesh from Julana assembly constituency. After this, Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling when she was disqualified for the Paris Olympic Games for being 100 grams overweight. Voting for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. Counting of votes will take place on October 8.
