Vinesh Phogat Wins Julana Seat in Haryana Assembly Election 2024

Olympian-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat has claimed victory from the Julana constituency in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections. According to official data from the Election Commission of India, Phogat, who contested on a Congress ticket, secured 65,080 votes, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Yogesh Kumar by a margin of 6,015 votes. Kumar received 59,065 votes after 15 rounds of vote counting.

Phogat’s entry into politics came shortly after her appearance in the Paris Olympics, where she narrowly missed a medal in the women’s wrestling final due to a minor weight discrepancy. Her decision to join Congress earlier this year was considered a significant boost for the party, especially in Julana.

Aside from her Olympic career, Phogat was a prominent figure in the wrestlers’ protest against the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. Alongside fellow athletes Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, Phogat had accused Singh of sexually harassing female wrestlers, a movement that gained widespread attention.

While Congress secured the Julana seat, the party’s performance has not been equally strong across the state. As of 2:30 PM, the BJP led in 49 seats, while Congress trailed with 36 wins and leads combined. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) each managed to lead in only one seat.

The Haryana Legislative Assembly comprises 90 seats, with 46 being the majority mark.

In addition to Phogat’s win, another notable victory for Congress came from former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who won from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi. Hooda defeated BJP’s Manju Singh by a substantial margin of 70,626 votes, securing 1,07,520 votes, while his opponent failed to cross the 40,000 mark. Hooda, who served as Haryana’s chief minister from 2004 to 2014, played a key role in leading Congress’ campaign in the run-up to this year’s elections.