‘Julana mange gold’: Vinesh supporters eye a big win, flag her protest, Olympic blow

Julana is the constituency from wherever wrestler Vinesh Phogat is making her canvass debut connected the Congress ticket. She is pitted against the BJP’s Captain Yogesh Kumar and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP)’s sitting MLA Amardeep Dhanda.

Baktha Khera is Vinesh’s hubby Somvir Rathee’s village. While Haryana recorded a turnout of 61.25% by 7 p.m. Saturday, Julana saw a turnout of 69.8%.

Across Baktha Khera, galore are going retired of their mode to guarantee the triumph of their “bahu (daughter-in-law) Vinesh” amid a slogan successful the village, “Julana mange golden (Julana wants gold)”.

Sarpanch Rathee takes a interruption and sits down with the elders. As a hookah is passed among them, they sermon the portfolios Vinesh mightiness beryllium fixed successful the lawsuit of her triumph and that of the Congress. “We person been promised that she volition beryllium the sports minister. I americium definite she volition get different portfolio, too,” Rathee says.

A fewer 100 metres away, returning from the voting booth, Sudesh Kumari, 47, says, “She (Vinesh) is our Jhansi ki Rani. She listens to america and volition enactment for us. She is mounting an illustration for the girls successful our villages.”

Around 15 km away, successful a colony called Shamlo Kalan, 50-year-old Sheela Satpal, says Vinesh volition assistance different girls determination ahead. “If she sets up institutions successful our village, our girls wouldn’t person to spell retired for acquisition and jobs. You mightiness person seen what happened astatine Jantar Mantar (the protestation against erstwhile MP and Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh), truthful we request to enactment her. Vinesh jeetegi hullo jeetegi (Vinesh is going to win),” she says.

Julana was held by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) from 2009 to 2019. The JJP’s Amarjeet Dhanda won it successful the 2019 polls, erstwhile the enactment emerged arsenic the kingmaker successful forming the authorities and allied with the BJP. This move, galore say, has led to galore of its voters drift distant from the JJP. This is evident successful Ramkali, a predominantly Jat village, which had mostly voted for the JJP successful 2019.

“We were staunch Chautala voters, but JJP main Dushyant (Chautala) went and sided with Modi. They bushed up our wrestlers and farmers. The full colony this clip voted for the Congress,” Kitabo, 60, says.

Her lad Chandgi, 24, says, “Vinesh volition enactment for us, perceive to us.” Kitabo interrupts him, saying: “Even if she doesn’t, we’ll inactive enactment her.”

A laboratory attendant, Pankaj Mor, who is besides from Ramkali says, “There is besides sympathy for her (Vinesh). She has lone seen hardships. Her begetter died erstwhile she was young. She worked hard to beryllium a wrestler and Brij Bhushan made her vocation difficult. When she protested, they dragged her connected Delhi roads. Even astatine the Olympics, she didn’t get the metallic she deserved.”

He adds, “We wanted her to contention and we volition marque her win,” and proceeds to awesome astatine an aged antheral wearing a garment that reads: ‘Desh ki shaan, Vinesh pehelwan (India’s pride, Vinesh wrestler)”.

At the section mandi, Sunil Aggarwal, 50, who owns a jute sack manufacturing unit, speaks of the Jat preservation agitation successful 2016. “Under the Congress, determination are unequal opportunities. This favouritism resulted successful the BJP coming to power. We ballot for the enactment due to the fact that they instrumentality everyone along,” helium says.

Aggarwal is speedy to adhd that it is bully to spot Vinesh successful politics. “But we look astatine the enactment much than the candidate,” helium says.

In the Jind town, Parveen, 40, a councillor, says Vinesh is “immensely popular” with women. “She said she would amended the transport facilities for miss children. Women cognize that a pistillate person volition beryllium capable to absorption connected them and recognize what their needs are,” she says. However, she adds, Vinesh had refused to devour astatine people’s houses. “She had bouncers, too. It mightiness trim the borderline we initially thought of.”

In Bishanpura, with 30% of voters being Yadavs, the colony supports the BJP, says Naresh Yadav, its sarpanch. “Yogesh volition get each non-Jat votes. Recently, determination was a congregation of OBC and SC voters who vowed to ballot en masse for BJP,” helium claims.

Some voters accidental they are sticking to the BJP owed to the party-led incumbent government’s payment programmes. Mukesh, a landless labourer from the Dalit community, says she gave her ballot to “(PM Narendra) Modi” who “has fixed america ration”.