Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have officially joined the Congress and will contest the upcoming Haryana Assembly election. Vinesh Phogat, 30, is expected to run for the Julana seat, currently held by the Jannayak Janta Party’s Amarjeet Dhanda. Bajrang Punia, also 30, will represent the Congress in defending the Badli constituency. The two prominent athletes met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before announcing their political move.

Their decision to join the Congress comes at a crucial time, as the party finalizes its candidate list and engages in seat-sharing negotiations with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The addition of such well-known figures to its ranks could potentially strengthen the Congress’s negotiating position, especially with internal doubts about an alliance with the AAP surfacing among some Haryana Congress leaders.

The Congress and AAP are both part of the INDIA bloc, an alliance formed to counter the BJP in the upcoming national elections. However, this alliance has yet to significantly impact state-level contests. Rahul Gandhi appears eager to consolidate opposition forces in Haryana, where uniting with the AAP could help avoid a split in the anti-BJP vote.

Sources indicate that early discussions saw the AAP requesting 10 seats out of the state’s 90, while the Congress was reportedly willing to concede only seven. One seat is also expected to go to the Samajwadi Party, another INDIA bloc member. Negotiations, led by AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Congress’s KC Venugopal, are ongoing.

For the Congress, securing Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia is a strategic move aimed at bolstering its appeal in Haryana, a BJP stronghold since 2014. Phogat’s connection with the farming community, especially during ongoing protests against the BJP’s agricultural policies, could be a decisive factor. Last week, she visited farmers protesting at the Haryana-Delhi border, expressing solidarity with their cause.

Phogat and Punia gained widespread attention last year after leading protests against former wrestling federation chief Brij Bhushan Singh, who was accused of sexual misconduct. Singh, a three-time BJP MP, was later dropped from the party’s candidate list, with his son taking his place and winning the seat.

By recruiting Phogat and Punia, the Congress aims to leverage their popularity and influence in Haryana, while also reinforcing its stance on issues that resonate with the state’s voters.