New Delhi, 6 Sept

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress on Friday ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls, with the party saying its Central Election Committee would decide if they would contest the elections.

Phogat and Punia joined the party in the presence of Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, spokesperson Pawan Khera and Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan. The two had earlier met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Speaking after their joining, Phogat said she did not want any other sportsperson to go through what she went through. "I want to thank the Congress party... It is said that you realise who is with you during difficult times. When we were being dragged on roads, all parties except the BJP stood with us," she said. "The pain that we have gone through, we stand with all women who have experienced pain," she added.

Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023. "I could have quit wrestling at Jantar Mantar because the BJP's IT cell was publicising that we were spent forces. They said I did not want to play in the nationals but I did; they said I did not want to do trials, I did that... They said I could not go to the Olympics but I did... Unfortunately, it was not god's will," she said.

"I have been given an opportunity to serve the people of my country, this is a new inning. What we faced as a sportsperson, I would not want any other sportsperson to go through that," she said.

Phogat on Friday resigned from the Indian Railways, citing personal reasons. Asked if they would be contesting the assembly elections in Haryana, the Congress said its Central Election Committee would take a decision on that.

The Congress and AAP are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the Haryana polls. Voting on 90 seats in Haryana will be held on 5 October and the votes counted on 8 October.