Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana, political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), have ramped up their preparations. While the BJP is claiming it will form the government for the third consecutive time, the Congress is also asserting its confidence in winning. Amidst these developments, a significant update has emerged from the Congress camp. Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia met with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday in New Delhi. 

Gandhi met with the two wrestlers before heading to Kashmir this morning, sparking speculation about their potential entry into the Congress party. The Congress put out a photograph of Gandhi with Phogat and Punia on its official X handle. Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023. This meeting comes a day after Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) convened on Monday (September 2) to finalise its list of candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

After meeting Gandhi, both grapplers also met Congress General secretary KC Venugopal.