Have been a fan of PM Modi, says Babita Phogat; joins BJP with her father

india

Updated: Aug 12, 2019 15:01 IST

Babita Phogat, the medal-winning sportsperson from Haryana’s wrestler family that inspired the Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood film ‘Dangal’, joined the BJP on Monday in national capital Delhi.

Her father and Dhronacharya awardee Mahavir Phogat also switched parties and joined her daughter in the BJP.

Ahead of the 2019 national elections, Mahavir Phogat had joined Jannayak Janata Party founded by Ajay Chautala, the jailed elder son of former chief minister OP Chautala. He was made chief of the party’s sports cell. But the party ticket that the family had expected didn’t come.

At a BJP event to announce the induction of the daughter-father team, Babita Phogat showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Babita Phogat said she was a great fan of Narendra Modi. “Not just from today but ever since he became the Prime Minister... I was influenced by his work,” she said. Babita Phogat also profusely thanked the BJP and its leaders for inducting her into the party.

Mahavir Phogat said: “BJP government did a great work by scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcating Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories”. He also showered praises on Haryana government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal “for providing the state with a transparent government and recruiting youth in a fair manner”.

Babita, 29, had sued the Haryana government for not upgrading her as the deputy superintendent of police despite the many medals that she had won. She was a sub-inspector. But she lost the case in June this year and later, according to her family, has resigned from service.

The Phogat family hails from Balali village of Dadri and there is speculation that the family expects Babita to be fielded from either Badhra or Dadri assembly segments of Dadri district.

Babita, who is recovering from an injury, also aims to qualify for the Olympics and eventually bring home the glory of an Olympic gold medal for the country.

Daughter of former wrestler and coach, Mahavir Singh Phogat, and younger sister of Geeta Phogat, she is a bronze medalist at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships, and has won gold at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.