Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia ready for Haryana Assembly poll plunge

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A picture says more than a thousand words. How true. As social media wakes up to images of Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia standing next to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, it becomes clear the two wrestlers have plenty of interest in politics.

With elections to the 90 Haryana Assembly seats slated for October, the poll bugle from the Congress side was sounded without noise the moment Vinesh had landed at the IG airport in New Delhi last month.

For Deepinder Hooda, a seasoned INC Member of Parliament to be present on the open jeep with Vinesh was a clear sign the Congress was not going to miss out on the chance for optics. And for all those who think the ruling party was not present to receive the celebrated wrestler, perhaps, they missed the picture of Vijender Singh and officials from the Sports Authority of India.

Politics and sports are inseparable. The more one talks of separating it, the bigger the interlinking. And this is not unique to India, sportspersons have contested polls abroad as well. Frankly speaking, since the time of the protests against the Wrestling Federation of India last year, there was a nagging suspicion, the whole thing had become politicised. Anyone who went to the protest site at Jantar Mantar saw it with own eyes how so many political parties involved in the farmers' agitation were also there.

The sloganeering and shrill voices heard at that time were proof a campaign for justice had taken a different turn. That is just one part of the story. Once the two protests ended last year, the wrestlers had to return to the mat. Bajrang was unprepared and his attempt at seeking glory in the Asian Games last year in Hangzhou failed miserably. The same cannot be said about Vinesh Phogat, who did well to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics but was disqualified and ranked last after she was over the weight limit ahead of her final bout. Details of it are well known to all and how much effort she had put in to make the cut.

All this is pure sports, pure wrestling, which every sporting fan will understand. Now begin the political games, where it is expected that Vinesh and Bajrang will, perhaps, fight the elections. It is well-known, in India, be it at the national level or state level, sportspersons have jumped into poll fray. Sportspersons are part of politics from Mohd Azharuddin to Chetan Chauhan and Kirti Azad to Kalyan Chaubey. Some win, some lose. And Vijender Singh, himself, has been in the poll scene a few times, first as a Congress candidate. He changed colours and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just before the General Election to the Lok Sabha this summer.

In the coming days and weeks, Vinesh and Bajrang will be more active. To be identified with the Congress is not surprising at all. One thing is clear, as far as returning to wrestling mats is concerned, that will not be top priority for these two grapplers. They are not new to politics either and were seen at the farmers' protest sites along the Delhi border in 2023. Even a few days back, Vinesh had met the farmers, which was a clear indicator which way the wind was blowing.

If, till the time Vinesh Phogat returned from Paris was a sports story, now the narrative has changed. And if someone still thinks that two-star wrestlers meeting Rahul Gandhi was just a PR exercise, take it with a pinch of salt. And if you see Vinesh and Bajrang take a deep plunge into the Haryana polls, this will be the real "Dangal."