Vijender Singh’s one-two punch: Now in BJP corner, Olympian boxer once seen as close to Rahul

Boxer Vijender Singh joined the BJP in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

The move, just days ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, was also a surprise as Vijender, 38, has been consistently critical of the Modi government on important issues, from farmer protests to the wrestlers’ agitation.

The Haryana-based boxer was also seen as having a line open to Rahul, and has been photographed with the Congress leader often, including during his first Bharat Jodo Yatra.

In 2019, the Congress had fielded Vijender from South Delhi. He had lost badly, finishing third and losing his deposit, behind the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha.

While it is not clear whether the BJP will field Vijender, or from where, some Congress leaders had been talking about him as a possible candidate from the Mathura Lok Sabha seat against the BJP’s Hema Malini.

Apart from dealing a blow to the Congress, the BJP will hope that the entry of Vijender, a known Jat face belonging to Haryana’s Bhiwani district, will help the party with the community in the state bound for elections later this year.

Jats, who also have political influence in western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, have been unhappy with the BJP both over the farmer agitations and the wrestlers’ protest.

Sources in the Congress said that Vijender had been keen for a ticket from Hisar or Bhiwani-Mahendragarh seats in Haryana, but the party did not show signs of obliging him. The Congress has not declared any names for Haryana.

As the BJP has announced all its 10 Lok Sabha candidates for the state, it remains to be seen whether the party considers Vijender from western UP or Rajasthan. The options in western UP too are limited as most of its seats vote in the first phase, and the nomination date is over.

Welcoming Vijender into the BJP fold, party Haryana spokesperson Sanjay Sharma said: “Some political powers have been trying to create the impression that this government is anti-farmer. As Vijender comes from a farmer family, it will dispel this.”

Haryana Congress media incharge Chandvir Singh Hooda said farmers had already made a mind to teach the BJP “a lesson” and the entry of a “turncoat” would not help the party. “How can the wrestlers forget the way that the Delhi Police, which comes under the Centre, treated them during their agitation? The wrestlers still remember the sports-friendly environment created by Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during his time in Haryana.”

Before he ventured into politics, Vijender, who won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, was largely apolitical. However, even then, he was seen as friendly towards the Congress.

During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Rahul Gandhi often dropped by to watch his bouts. They subsequently made several public appearances together. The father of Vijender’s wife Archana was also an influential Congress activist from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

At the same time, Vijender’s 2019 poll debut had come as a surprise. In the days leading up to the announcement, he was all set to make his US pro-boxing debut in Los Angeles, which only got scuttled due to an ‘injury’.

Days later, the Congress named Vijender as its South Delhi candidate. Incidentally, another name seen to be in contention for the seat was fellow wrestler Sushil Kumar, also a Beijing Olympics bronze medalist.

Even after his 2019 loss, Vijender remained vocal on key issues, toeing the Congress line. In December 2020, he was among the sportspersons who threw his weight behind the protesting farmers and threatened to return awards given by the government if it didn’t withdraw “the black farm laws”. (The three laws were later repealed by the Centre.)

Vijender was also among the first sportspersons to join the wrestlers as they protested at Jantar Mantar against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, over sexual harassment allegations. He called PM Modi’s silence on the issue “condemnable” and demanded “earliest action” on the matter.

On Wednesday, addressing a joint press conference with BJP leaders at the party headquarters in Delhi, Vijender said respect for Indian sportspersons had increased since the BJP came to power. “When we travelled abroad to fight (in matches) in the UK, Dubai, Ireland and other places, there used to be issues at airports. Since the BJP came to the helm under PM Modi, it has become easier.”

On his criticism of the Modi government earlier, he said: “I am the same old Vijender. Whatever I felt wrong, I would call it wrong. I will call it right if I feel it is right.”