JIND: International wrestler Vinesh Phogat has changed her avatar to that of a “rustic bahu” while seeking votes as the Congress candidate from Haryana’s Julana assembly seat. To appeal to the traditional sensibilities of rural voters, the wrestler-turned-politician can be seen seeking votes with her head covered with a ‘chunni’, as is the norm in Haryana villages.
Vinesh is presenting herself as ‘Julana ki bahu’ (daughter-in-law of Julana) amid charges of being an outsider who would leave the place after elections.”I am daughter-in-law of this land and will never leave it,” she is heard saying in her public addresses, emphasising her connection to the region.
Her husband Sombir Rathi hails from Bakhta Khera village near Julana. Rathi’s family is now settled in Sonipat while Vinesh’s family is from Balali village in Charkhi Dadri district. Her pitch is also an attempt to counter AAP’s Kavita Dalal‘s ‘Julana ki beti’ (Julana’s daughter) appeal to seek votes.
Vinesh has had her share of fight against sexual harassment. The first Indian woman to win gold medals at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, she faced disappointment at the recent Olympics. Kavita is the only woman from India to have performed at WWE. In 2023, she accused Harbhajan Singh, then Indian Weightlifting Federation president, of sexual harassment. She won gold at 2016 South Asian Games.
Vinesh is presenting herself as ‘Julana ki bahu’ (daughter-in-law of Julana) amid charges of being an outsider who would leave the place after elections.”I am daughter-in-law of this land and will never leave it,” she is heard saying in her public addresses, emphasising her connection to the region.
Her husband Sombir Rathi hails from Bakhta Khera village near Julana. Rathi’s family is now settled in Sonipat while Vinesh’s family is from Balali village in Charkhi Dadri district. Her pitch is also an attempt to counter AAP’s Kavita Dalal‘s ‘Julana ki beti’ (Julana’s daughter) appeal to seek votes.
Vinesh has had her share of fight against sexual harassment. The first Indian woman to win gold medals at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, she faced disappointment at the recent Olympics. Kavita is the only woman from India to have performed at WWE. In 2023, she accused Harbhajan Singh, then Indian Weightlifting Federation president, of sexual harassment. She won gold at 2016 South Asian Games.