Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia Likely to Contest Haryana Assembly Elections on Congress Ticket

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are poised to contest the Haryana Assembly elections under the Congress banner and are expected to resign from their current positions. The Congress and AAP are in seat-sharing discussions ahead of the Haryana polls, emphasizing an anti-BJP alliance.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are expected to contest the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections on Congress tickets. According to sources, the duo may also resign from their official posts. On Wednesday, the pair met with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the national capital. They are also scheduled to meet Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal today.

Haryana's polling day is set for October 5, with votes to be counted on October 8. At the Paris Olympics, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 50 kg gold medal bout, leading to her retirement announcement on August 8. There has been speculation about her entering active politics, following in the footsteps of her cousin Babita, a BJP MLA.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have initiated talks on seat-sharing for the Haryana assembly polls, potentially continuing their alliance from the previous Lok Sabha elections. A three-member committee, including Ajay Maken, Deepak Babaria, and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has been formed for discussions with AAP and Samajwadi Party. Party general secretary KC Venugopal will oversee the committee's work.

Congress is reportedly willing to allocate 3-5 seats to AAP and one to the Samajwadi Party in the 90-member Haryana assembly. The discussions align with the suggestion of Rahul Gandhi, who emphasized the importance of the INDIA bloc working together to avoid vote division. AAP MP Sanjay Singh welcomed this, stating the final decision would follow consultations with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

"We welcome it. Our priority is to defeat the BJP. Our Haryana in-charge Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta will discuss it and inform Arvind Kejriwal before a decision is taken," said Sanjay Singh.

(With inputs from agencies.)