Congress is gearing up for the Haryana assembly elections next month, however, there seem to be many hiccups on its way. While wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress at the party headquarters in Delhi on 6th September, some farmers staged protests outside the building as they protested the decision to give an election ticket to a Congress leader from Hisar.
“We are here from Hisar, Haryana. We came to know that Congress is going to give the ticket (for assembly elections) to a corrupt person. We all farmer leaders are here to request Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Deepak Babaria as they said that they won’t give tickets to any corrupt person. We want them to follow that,” voiced a demonstrator.
#WATCH | A man protesting outside AICC headquarters in Delhi, says, "We are here from Hisar Haryana, we came to know that Congress is going to give the ticket (for assembly elections) to a corrupt person. We all farmer leaders are here to request Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi… https://t.co/4tJ7ucgRpZ pic.twitter.com/pLBfoa509D
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2024
“We are happy that Vinesh and Bajrang are joining Congress, they are our children and Olympians. But, our issue is that we don’t want any corrupt to get a ticket,” the man added. Meanwhile, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria also faced massive opposition from the locals who charged the party with corruption in ticket distribution. They surrounded the Congress leader’s vehicle and accused the party of giving a ticket to a corrupt candidate from Hisar.
Delhi: Haryana residents protested at the Congress office, accusing the party of corruption in ticket distribution. They surrounded Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria's car, alleging that a corrupt candidate was being given a ticket for Hisar pic.twitter.com/ERZpDwAI5Q
— IANS (@ians_india) September 6, 2024
Joginder, a farmer leader who came from Hisar, expressed, “Our demand from Congress is that the party should give the ticket to an honest farmer leader there.” He also warned that if the grand old party didn’t reverse its decision, then it was in their hands to vote, implying they would not support the party in the poll.
Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress in the presence of party general secretary KC Venugopal, party leader Pawan Khera, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan and AICC in-charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria. Vinesh Phogat also announced her resignation from Northern Railways earlier in the day. The two wrestlers then visited Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in Delhi. The duo also met Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi on 4th September. According to media reports, Vinesh Phogat is expected to run from the Julana seat and Bajrang Punia is likely to contest from the Badli seat.
