Rahul Gandhi meets wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia as speculation grows over Haryana election bids

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia amid speculation that the wrestlers may be nominated as party candidates in the upcoming Haryana state Assembly elections.
The Congress party shared a picture of the meeting on its official social media account.

The Congress Central Election Committee met on Monday and finalized the names of 34 candidates for the Haryana assembly elections. Deepak Babaria, AICC in-charge of Haryana, said that the final list of candidates would be released on Wednesday. He also acknowledged the speculations around Phogat and Punia, and indicated that it would be addressed soon.
Phogat and Punia, along with fellow wrestler Sakshi Malik, had earlier levelled serious allegations against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan. They accused him of sexual exploitation and harassment and demanded his resignation and dissolution of the federation. The WFI has categorically denied these allegations.
The Election Commission has scheduled the Haryana state assembly elections for October 5, with counting of votes to take place on October 8. The election date has been changed from the originally scheduled date of October 1, and counting for both the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana state assemblies has been moved from October 4 to October 8.