Vinesh Phogat's Political Dangal

A JCB loader, tattooed with a ‘No Farmers, No Food’ sticker, stood waiting for newly-inducted Congress leader Vinesh Phogat. Its metal bucket, filled with rose petals, was poised in readiness, as paeans in honour of the wrestling champion echoed from loudspeakers.

“Sarkar samajh mein aayi na, chhori ke sapne maar diye... Karo swagat sherni ka, ladke aayi se… (The government didn’t understand and killed the girl’s dream. Welcome the tigress coming home after the fight),” the loudspeakers blared.

These were the scenes at a jan sampark rally in Kheema Kheri village of Haryana’s Julana constituency, where multiple Commonwealth Games medal winner, Phogat, is contesting the upcoming assembly elections on October 5. Elderly men in turbans, khap (clan-based councils) members and women swathed in dupattas filled the venue. As Phogat’s convoy arrived, young girls and budding wrestlers were pushed forward to greet their “role model”. The music switched to the cheerful Congress campaign song: “Vinesh Phogat aagyi re (Vinesh Phogat has arrived).”

After steering through the highs and lows of ‘Olympic’ proportions and locking arms with opponents on wrestling mats, Phogat has now embraced politics and stepped into its dusty pit of electioneering.

A rasp in her throat after six days of rallying has not slowed down the spring in her step or dulled the zeal with which the athlete has been campaining. Banking on her marital ties to a wrestling family in Bakhta Khera, Phogat moved swiftly through the crowds, seeking blessings as “Julana’s daughter-in-law”. She told voters, “Julana ki bahu ki izzat aapke hath mein hai... Apni chori ko jittaow (The honour of Julana’s daughter-in-law is in your hands. Help me win)” Describing Julana as her “karambhoomi (place of work),” Phogat vowed to make the region proud, just as she did with her “janam bhoomi (place of birth).”

In return, she promised more opportunities and avenues for sports, especially for young girls. She promised safety at the workplace and on the roads and the construction of stadiums and training institutes. “Haryana is brimming with talented girls and youth who want to make a big name in sports. They possess the willpower and strength but lack financial support or government backing. I will ensure that changes,” she said. She also promised cleaner water, better roads inside villages, regular electricity and gas cylinders at reduced rates.

According to local Congress workers, a faction initially expressed frustration over older party members in the region being bypassed for a “political outsider”, as Phogat was seen as the “Hooda camp’s choice”.

Congress heavyweight and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, projected by many as the CM face despite Congress’ no-naming-names policy, defended her selection. He described the ticket given to Phogat not as a political move but as a “token of gratitude” and a “morale booster”, after she was controversially disqualified from the women’s 50 kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics for narrowly missing the weight requirement by a few grams.

In her rallies, local Congress cadres are pitching Phogat not just as an MLA but as a “minister”. “She will surely win this seat and if the Congress wins, she could become the next sports minister. I will not be surprised if she becomes a chief ministerial face in the future,” says Kuldeep Dalal, a Congress worker from Shamlo Kalan village in Julana. Dalal, who has been canvassing for the party for two years, says that over 80 potential candidates were in the running, but he believes Phogat was chosen for her popularity as an athlete among the voters. “She has returned from the Olympics. The whole world knows her, and the youth interested in sports think she can help highlight the state internationally,” he adds.

Phogat’s political debut became clear after her return from Paris, when she was welcomed by Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda. The Congress’ grand roadshow in her honour overshadowed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even though it had declared that she would be treated like an Olympic silver medallist.

***

Born in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, Phogat hails from the state’s first family of wrestling. She is one of the renowned ‘Phogat sisters’, which includes her cousins Geeta, Babita, Priyanka and sister Ritu. She was raised and trained by her coach and paternal uncle, Mahavir Phogat, who joined the BJP in 2019 along with Babita, who was once considered for a ticket by the saffron party. The BJP eventually overlooked her candidature, both then and now. The family has now reacted negatively to Phogat’s political entry, with Babita accusing Bhupinder Singh Hooda of “breaking” the family and Mahavir expressing his disapproval. “It’s too soon,” he said, adding, “She should have concentrated on the 2028 Olympics and won that first.”

After the Olympics fiasco, Vinesh Phogat had tweeted about retiring from wrestling—a sport she practiced for 24 years—and then soon after announced her candidacy. Dismissing her critics, Phogat asserts that her fight is not just for herself, but for the rights and dignity of women athletes across the country who “remain shackled due to sexism and male preference, gender roles at home, lack of safety for women and societal expectations”.

“As someone who has faced alienation from the sporting community as well as the full might of the government’s wrath, I can assure that if I win, other women in sports won’t face what we faced,” she promised young girls at rallies in Julana. She added that once she had faith in the government, but now the BJP had assaulted everyone—farmers, women wrestlers, village heads and government employees. “This election is the chance to avenge them all and do justice by voting the BJP out,” she dares.

Last year, Vinesh Phogat joined wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia in a nearly six-month-long protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP leader, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually abusing women athletes. In May 2023, the protest at Jantar Mantar was violently dispersed by the Delhi Police, with images of weeping athletes resisting police batons drawing international condemnation. Singh recently criticised Phogat’s political entry, claiming that the move began two years ago, referring to the protests. However, the BJP has reportedly asked him to refrain from commenting on Phogat or other wrestlers during the Haryana polls.

Phogat is pitted against the BJP’s Captain Yogesh Bairagi, a former commercial pilot and ex-Army man, and the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Kavita Dalal, also a wrestler and native to the region. To counter Phogat’s Julana ki Bahu pitch, Dalal has branded herself as Julana ki Beti (Julana’s daughter). Phogat’s prowess and show of strength during the Olympics and the wrestlers’ protest seem to have given the Congress candidate an edge. The AAP’s ongoing issues in Delhi also appear to be hampering Dalal’s campaign. Meanwhile, Bairagi, vice president of the BJP’s youth wing in Haryana and co-convener of the sports cell, is relying on his youth appeal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity.

During the door-to-door campaigning in Sundarpur village, Bairagi approached elderly voters with emotional appeals like, “Voting for me means voting for Modi. If you love Modi, you should vote for me.” He also referred to Phogat as his “sister” and stated that while she had made the state proud as a wrestler, the BJP was the right choice for governance. “I am honoured by the party’s faith in me. I promise to create more jobs and industry in the area, especially in the field of sports,” he said.

Belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) community, Bairagi hopes to consolidate the “pichda” (backward) voters who form the second-largest demographic in the state after Jats, and are followed by the Scheduled Castes (SCs). Other candidates include Jannayak Janta Party’s (JJP) sitting MLA Amarjeet Dhanda and retired Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Surender Lathar of the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) alliance. After 10 years of ruling the state, the BJP is nevertheless facing a wave of anti-incumbency across Haryana, fuelled by the farmer protests, wrestlers’ protests and memories of the Jat agitation.

In Julana assembly constituency, which is currently held by the JJP, there seems to be little support for the BJP. Despite major Congress leaders and even her wrestling companions, Malik and Punia, remaining conspicuously absent from her campaign, Phogat appears to have garnered local support and sympathy, even from some of the BJP’s supporters. For instance, Pushpa Devi, a resident of Julana, says that though the BJP’s push towards cashless transactions and digitisation has helped some farmers, it has rarely won this seat.

Aspiring wrestler Tamanna Mouan, who turned 18 this year and will be voting for the first time, was eager to meet Phogat. Voicing issues faced by women athletes, she says, “There is only one decent training facility in Jind district. The training costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per month. The other institutes either don’t have resources or trained coaches.”

Hisar-based wrestling coach Jagdish Sheoran says that more girls are participating in sports and family attitudes are changing. He believes an acclaimed sportsperson becoming an MLA could improve the state’s sport infrastructure. “It isn’t enough to just build institutions or start schemes. Implementation is the key,” he says. At the Nidani Sports School, where he coaches Mouan, the mood was cheerful. “Vinesh Phogat is our inspiration,” quips young wrestler Kashish Tyagi.

Rishi Raj, a panchayat member from the Sikh and SC-dominated village of Ashrafgarh, says the community will vote for the candidate who chooses “people over power” and avoids tokenism with marginalised groups. “We do not want to be called ‘Harijans’ by political leaders only to be neglected. We need leaders who will work on the ground. This is Phogat’s sasuraal (in-law’s house), so she will be obligated to come here, even if she is a celebrity.”

Prakashi, a daily wager from the SC community in Ashrafgarh, says, “In our village, we don’t have clean drinking water. We have to walk five kilometres to get water. Electricity is also erratic, with long power cuts.” Sudesh from the OBC-dominated Govindpura, adds, “The condition of roads is pathetic. So far, leaders from the BJP have not visited us, and we don’t really know the other parties’ candidates.”

Bedo Devi from Shamlo Khurd village supports Phogat because “women should also get a chance”. “Why should only boys become leaders, chief ministers and prime ministers?” the elderly voter asks, adding, “We should let girls fight. Because they fight to win.”

Rakhi Bose in Julana, Haryana