Haryana Assembly elections: Power of my name helped Vinesh win, says Brij Bhushan

PTI, Oct 9, 2024, 9:16 AM IST

Gonda: Former BJP MP and ex WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Tuesday said wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s win in the Haryana Assembly elections is a result of the “power” of his name.

“If she wins by using my name, it means I am a great man. At least my name has enough power to help her sail through,” he said while addressing an event.

Singh said wherever Phogat goes, destruction follows her and it will happen in future too. “She may have won the election by herself but Congress is completely doomed.”

Congress candidate and wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday called her maiden electoral win from the Julana assembly seat in Haryana as “victory of struggle” and “victory of truth”.

Phogat defeated her nearest rival and BJP nominee Yogesh Kumar by a margin of 6,015 votes, according to the Election Commission. Phogat polled 65,080 votes while BJP’s Kumar secured 59,065 votes.

The former chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that “these wrestlers are not heroes but villains for Haryana”.

The condition of Congress in the country is continuously deteriorating, he said, adding “All the efforts of Rahul Gandhi are failing. Now Congress should accept that the people of the country have rejected them.”

On the lead taken by the opposition alliance INDIA bloc in the Jammu and Kashmir elections, Singh said the BJP had made an attempt to form the government there, which was not successful.

“The mood and atmosphere of the (political) weather there is different. The mandate is acceptable to us (BJP),” he said.

Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia were at the forefront of the wrestlers’ protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

After the allegations made by the women wrestlers, the BJP did not give Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh a ticket from Kaiserganj and made his son Karan Bhushan Singh the candidate.

His son Karan Bhushan Singh won the Lok Sabha polls by a margin of over 1.48 lakh votes defeating SP’s Bhagat Ram.