Former Olympic medallist turned politician Vinesh Phogat won the election from the Julana assembly constituency in Haryana by a margin of over 6,000 votes. Notably, this was Phogat’s first time contesting elections after an illustrious sporting career.
Vinesh Phogat faced stiff competition from former army captain and BJP candidate Yogesh Bairagi, who polled 59,065 votes against Phogat’s 65,080. Meanwhile, incumbent JJP MLA Amarjeet Dhanda finished a distant fourth.
The Julana seat had remained with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) from 2009 to 2019, and the Congress party had last won from the constituency in 2005.
Soon after the victory, Phogat was quoted as saying by PTI, “This is the fight of every girl, every woman who chooses the path to fight. This is the victory of every struggle, truth. I will maintain the love and trust that this country has given me,”
“These are early trends wait for some time, earlier I was also trailing but now I won. Nothing is clear now. Congress party will form its government.” the wrestler proclaimed
Netizens react to Vinesh Phogat’s victory from Julana:
One user on X, enthused by Phogat’s victory termed it as a ‘personal win for all women’, she wrote, “I was holding back celebrating so as not to jinx it, especially after the whole Olympics heartbreak. This feels like a personal win for women after what she went through. Well done, @Phogat_Vinesh the women in your state now look to you to do right by them.”
Another user wrote in Hindi, “Ye jeet sirf Vinesh Phogat ki nahi, balki har sache deshbhakt ki hai “(This is not just a victory for Vinesh Phogat, but a victory for all nationalists).
Meanwhile, some users also weren’t happy with the way Phogat campaigned during the election. One such user wrote, “She lost all the respect. We were expecting sportsman spirit from her but she didn’t show any sportsman spirit during elections.”