Uncle Mahavir unhappy over Vinesh Phogat’s Congress foray

Sports and politics go hand in hand in the Phogat family of Balali village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, known for producing internationally renowned women wrestlers such as Vinesh, Geeta and Babita. Vinesh (30) is the latest member of the Phogat family to step into politics.

She joined the Congress on Friday afternoon and was hours later nominated the party candidate from Julana Assembly seat in Jind district. Her political foray, particularly her decision to join the Congress, however, hasn’t gone down well with her uncle Mahavir Phogat, a Dronacharya awardee who has coached the Phogat sisters.

Vinesh, Punia pawns

They (Punia and Vinesh) were faces... they were mohrey (pawns). They were used like pawns by the Cong.

Brij Bhushan S Singh, former WFI chief

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Mahavir said during her recent visit to Balali, he told Vinesh to stay focused on wrestling. “She should have aimed for an Olympics medal four years from now. I believe she still had a lot of wrestling left in her and should have continued in the sport,” he asserted.

Mahavir claimed Vinesh’s decision to join politics was entirely her own and he wasn’t consulted. “I don’t think she should be in politics at this stage of her career. Even if she was keen on joining, she should have opted for the BJP, which could also have offered her the ticket,” he stated.

He also made it clear he wouldn’t be campaigning for Vinesh as he preferred staying away from politics. Incidentally, Mahavir’s daughter Babita, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, too is into politics and had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Assembly election from Dadri on the BJP ticket. His younger brother Sajjan Phogat is the Jannayak Janta Party’s (JJP) Charkhi Dadri district president.

Mahavir’s daughter Sangeeta’s husband Bajrang Punia too joined the Congress along with Vinesh. An Olympic medallist, he was appointed the working president of the All India Kisan Congress.

Vinesh is married to wrestler Somvir Rathee, a resident of Garhwali Khera village in Julana. Her father-in-law Rajpal Singh objected to Mahavir saying that he wasn’t consulted on Vinesh’s Congress foray. “Why should he have any objection when the matter pertains to my family? Even his daughter Babita is into politics. We are happy the Congress gave Vinesh the opportunity to contest from our home segment Julana,” said Rajpal, an ex-serviceman who remained the village sarpanch from 2000 to 2005.

Meanwhile, the residents of Balali said like wrestling, politics too was an integral part of the Phogat family. “Mahavir’s wife Daya Kaur served as the village sarpanch from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2011 to 2016. Mahavir himself was an active worker of the INLD before switching to the JJP and then the BJP ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections,” said Amit Sangwan, a villager.