CHANDIGARH: Haryana’s athletes, despite being highly rewarded for their achievements, often become pawns for political parties seeking electoral gains.
Haryana may be India’s powerhouse of athletic talent, rewarding its medallists with hefty payouts, government jobs, and other benefits, but the sportspersons often fall prey to the political parties which use their fame and personality for political gains during elections.
The list of sports stars being drawn to politics is getting longer during every election, as the latest entrants in the political arena are star wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia. Both the wrestlers, who took part in the protests at Delhi last year during January, against BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India Chief, Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, followed the footsteps of fellow athletes who traded the sports field for the political battleground, but could not make an impact in politics.
But they are not new. Over the years, political parties have strategically leveraged the popularity of these athletes to boost their chances in challenging electoral battles. Wrestlers like Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogat, hockey player Sandeep Singh, and boxer Vijender Singh are a few examples of Haryana’s sporting icons who have been roped into political campaigns.
Despite their star power, many of these athletes have struggled to secure lasting political careers. Vinesh Phogat’s potential entry into politics seems to be a calculated move by senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who viewed her as a viable candidate for the Jat-dominated Julana constituency—a seat Congress has not won since 2005. Congress was earlier planning to field Punia either from Badli constituency, where he may take on BJP’s senior leader O.P. Dhankar or in Jat dominated Rai constituency, where Congress does not have a strong candidate. However, the party has now appointed him as the Working Chairman of All India Kisan Congress. Vinesh and Bajrang’s political presence could also serve as a counter to wrestler and Vinesh’s cousin Babita Phogat, a BJP leader who unsuccessfully contested the same seat in 2019.Congress is not carrying out a new experiment, but a look at the political career of former sportspersons reveal that they were lured by the political parties to win tough competitions.
India’s former hockey team captain Sandeep Singh, once hailed as “Soorma” for his heroics on the field, helped BJP secure a victory in the Sikh-dominated Pehowa constituency in 2019—an achievement last managed by the Janata Party in 1991. Sandeep even resigned from his position as DSP in the Haryana police to dedicate himself to politics. But a case of sexual harassment by a women coach faded his political career and for the upcoming elections, BJP dropped him in favour of an estranged Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader.Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, an Olympic bronze medallist, faced a similar fate. After joining BJP ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections, Dutt was tasked with winning the Baroda constituency, a seat the party had never claimed. He lost to three-time Congress winner Krishan Hooda. The defeat repeated itself in a 2020 by-election, with Dutt losing to Congress’s Indu Raj Narwal by an even larger margin—a clear sign of his declining political appeal. In the 2024 elections, BJP has sidelined Dutt’s request for a ticket from Gohana- opting for veteran politician Arvind Sharma instead.
Meanwhile, boxer Vijender Singh, who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics, has also struggled to make his mark in politics. In the 2019 general elections, Congress deployed Singh’s star power in the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, a BJP stronghold. Singh finished third, receiving only 1.64 lakh votes. Though he joined BJP before the 2024 elections, the likelihood of him securing a party ticket in Haryana remains slim, as BJP has already announced candidates for 67 seats.
The story of Babita Phogat, a Commonwealth Games medallist and world wrestling bronze medallist, is no different. Riding a wave of popularity in 2019, she joined BJP and was fielded in the Dadri Assembly constituency—a seat the party hadn’t won after 1977, when Hukum Singh won from there on Janta Party ticket. Phogat finished a disappointing third, and this time around, she did not even make it to t BJP’s list of candidates, with the party opting for Sunil Sangwan, son of former minister Satpal Sangwan.
BJP has now pinned its hopes on new sports star Deepak Hooda, former captain of the national Kabaddi team, and husband of boxer Sweety Boora, a gold medallist at the 2023 IBA Women›s World Boxing Championships. Hooda has been fielded in the Jat-dominated Meham constituency, a seat which BJP has not won since 1977, when it was represented by Janata Party’s Har Swarup.
Other athletes, like former cricketer Chetan Sharma and discus thrower Krishna Poonia, have also had mixed political fortunes. Sharma, who contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as a BSP candidate from Faridabad, lost. Poonia, who won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, began her political career in Rajasthan, but was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.“Haryana’s political parties frequently enlist sportspersons to secure challenging electoral victories. However, despite their notable efforts, many of these athletes struggle to make a lasting impact in politics, with their careers often ending on a disappointing note. It remains to be seen how long the latest entrants can endure in this demanding arena,” remarked Professor Ramji Lal, a political observer from Haryana.