Impressed by PM Narendra Modi’s work, policies and programmes, International wrestler Babita Phogat and her father Mahavir Phogat, a significant wrestling coach, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 12 (Monday).
The father-daughter duo joined the BJP in the presence of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, the party’s general secretary at the helm of Haryana Anil Jain and its State chief Subhash Badala.
Mr. Phogat, a former chief of the Jannayak Janata Party’s sports cell has now switched sides from the JJP, which was floated in 2018 by former Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala after a vertical split in the Indian National Lok Dal. The process comes barely 2 months before the Haryana Assembly polls.
When asked specific reasons for joining the BJP, Mr. Phogat said that they are impressed by PM Narendra Modi’s work and policies. “We are impressed with policies and programmes of the Narendra Modi government,” he said.
He lauded Modi government’s decision to revoke provisions of Article 370, describing it as the right decision at the right time.
Lauding the father-daughter duo, Mr. Rijiju said Babita Phogat has brought laurels to the country by bagging medals at several international events. Her father is also an exemplary person for coaching his daughters and making them international level wrestlers.
After Narendra Modi government’s decision to scrap Article 370, Babita Phogat took to her official Twitter handle to shower praises on the BJP leadership.
She also went on to defend Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar after he was involved in a controversy on his “brides from Kashmir” comments.
The Phogat household became popular nationwide in the aftermath of the success of Hindi movie ‘Dangal’, based on the lives of the Phogat sisters, all of the wrestlers, and their father who coached them.