Congress girds up for Haryana ‘Dangal’
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Vinesh Phogat joins Congress ahead of Haryana poll
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, September 6: The Congress on Friday inducted two Olympian wrestlers in the party ranks. Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress.
The Congress general secretary K C Venugopal inducted Phogat and Punia in the party. Both the wrestlers had been faces of agitation against the former Bharattiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.
The Congress is widely expected to field Phogat and Punia in the electoral battle in Haryana. The Congress is also in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for a seat-adjustment in Haryana.
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Phogat told reporters that the “Congress was with the agitating wrestlers when they were dragged on the street”. “You know who is truly with you in bad times,” said Phogat.
The young woman wrestler from Haryana missed out from a certain Olympic medal after she was found slightly overweight in the Paris Olympics. Her appeal was also rejected while the Congress had claimed conspiracy in Phogat losing the medal.
The Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda had held a roadshow with Phogat after she had returned from Paris. The Congress is seeking to cash in on the consolidation of the Jat vote base through wrestlers’ anger against the BJP.
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The Congress by high-profile induction has sent out the message that the party is upbeat for the Assembly polls. The Congress is hoping to wrest power in Jharkhand after a gap of 10 years.
The Congress is also showing least concerns for the reports that former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is unhappy with talks with the AAP for seat adjustment. But the top Congress leadership is unyielding to Hooda.
The Congress top leadership is keen to ensure that there remains no gap in the party’s bid to defeat the BJP. The Congress is also keen for a big margin victory to deny post-poll scope for the Congress to stage a backdoor entry to the power in Haryana.
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By boarding the anger of the wrestlers against the BJP, the Congress is hoping that the Jat vote base will consolidate in the party favour. The BJP had outsmarted the Congress in the last two state polls in Haryana with the consolidation of the non-Jat vote base.
The Congress is hopeful that the party’s aggressive backing of the caste census will help gain the votes of the other backward castes in Haryana.
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