Wrestler and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat was leading from the Julana Assembly constituency as the counting of votes for the Haryana Assembly elections was underway on Tuesday, showed data from the Election Commission.
At 1 pm, with 13 of the 15 rounds of counting over, Phogat was ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yogesh Kumar by a margin of 5,231 votes. The Aam Aadmi Party’s Kavita Rani, a former World Wrestling Entertainment star, was placed fifth.
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The Aam Aadmi Party fielded candidates for all 90 Assembly seats in the state after talks of an alliance with the Congress failed.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc that was formed ahead of the Lok Sabha election to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. They remain opponents in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana.
Phogat, along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, had joined the Congress on September 6. Following this, she was named the party’s candidate from Julana for the Assembly elections.
While addressing reporters after joining the Congress, Phogat spoke about the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, in which she had participated.
In January 2023, several top Indian wrestlers, including Phogat, Punia and Sakshi Malik, launched a protest against Singh, accusing him of intimidation and sexual harassment. The protestors were manhandled by the police at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on May 3, 2023.
“When we were being dragged on the road, all of you were with us except the BJP,” the three-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist had said.
The Legislative Assembly in Haryana has 90 members and 46 seats are required for a majority.
The Assembly polls in Haryana took place in a single phase on Saturday. A turnout of 67.9% was recorded.
Most exit polls had projected the Congress to win a clear majority.
Also read: Vinesh Phogat is winning over Haryana’s women – but is still wrestling with a tough election