Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party on September 6, 2024, in New Delhi. This move is happening before the Haryana Assembly elections. People are guessing that one or both of them might run for office.

Vinesh Phogat also quit her job at Indian Railways for personal reasons on the same day. The two wrestlers had met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on September 4, 2024, and the Congress party shared a photo of this meeting.

Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Vinesh Phogat was the first woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final but was disqualified for being slightly overweight. She later retired from wrestling.

Both wrestlers were involved in protests against sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.

The Congress and AAP are negotiating how to share election seats in Haryana. Voting for 90 Assembly seats will happen on October 5, and votes will be counted on October 8.