Chandigarh: The acclaimed wrestler from Haryana, Babita Phogat, and her father-cum-coach, Mahavir Phogat, have joined the BJP, two months after the party recorded a stellar victory in the Lok Sabha elections by winning all 10 seats in the state.
One among them is expected to be fielded in the Haryana assembly elections due in October. The Phogats, known as the “family of wrestlers” had inspired the Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal.
The family has long been associated with Haryana’s Jat-centric party — the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Following a split in the INLD last year, the Phogats had backed the splinter Jannayak Janta party (JJP).
Mahavir Phogat was made the incharge of the JJP’s sports wing in January. Phogat and Babita were also among the prominent guests during the JJP’s launch rally held at Jind in December.
JJP’s abysmal poll performance played part in decision
Highly-placed sources in the BJP said the Phogat family decided to shift allegiance after the JJP’s abysmal performance in the Lok Sabha elections. While the INLD’s vote share reduced drastically from 24.2 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha election to 1.8 per cent in the recent polls, the JJP fared relatively better in its debut election, managing 6 per cent of the total vote share.
A senior BJP leader added that Mahavir Phogat nurses ambitions to join active politics and was hopeful of being given a JJP ticket for the forthcoming assembly elections in the state. Following the Lok Sabha results, however, the family began backing the BJP.
Babita behind decision
Babita is said to have been instrumental in getting her father to break the familial bond with the JJP. Currently participating with her wrestler fiancee Vivek Suhag in the popular dance competition Nach Baliye on Star Plus, the 29-year-old Babita was a bronze medalist at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships. She has also won gold at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
In March this year, Babita who is a sub-inspector of the Haryana police had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court petitioning to be promoted as DSP like her elder sister Geeta Phogat. Geeta had been made a DSP in 2016 following the court’s intervention.
Babita’s petition was, however, rejected last month and she resigned from police service. She has been making her support for the BJP very clear on her Twitter account.
On Sunday, she retweeted Amit Shah’s speech on Kashmir. She went on to congratulate Prime minister Modi and Amit Shah for the “bold step”.
मेरे मन में जरा भी कन्फ्यूजन नहीं था कि अनुच्छेद 370 हटना चाहिए या नहीं।
मैं मानता हूं कि 370 से देश और कश्मीर का भला नहीं हुआ। इसे बहुत पहले ही हट जाना चाहिए था।
370 हटने के बाद कश्मीर में आतंकवाद खत्म होगा और कश्मीर विकास के मार्ग पर आगे बढ़ेगा: गृह मंत्री श्री @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/1EWCsbkJvo
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 11, 2019
Babita also vehemently defended Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar after he courted controversy over his remarks about Kashmiri girls.
हरियाणा के मुख्यमंत्री मनोहर लाल खट्टर जी ने ऐसा कोई बयान नहीं दिया है जिससे हमारी बहन बेटियों के बारे में गलत बोला गया हो मेरी मीडिया से प्रार्थना है कि उनके बयान को गलत तरीके से जनता के सामने पेश ना करें @mlkhattar https://t.co/9nsSYPGRJd
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) August 10, 2019
The Phogat family is from Balali village of Charkhi Dadri and their decision to join the BJP has sparked speculation that either the father or Babita herself will be fielded from Badhra or Dadri assembly seats.
Also read: Haryana CM Khattar didn’t say ‘bring girls from Kashmir’, but he sure found it funny