Olympic bronze medalist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt posted a cryptic post on social media platform X after not getting a ticket for the Haryana assembly elections to be held on October 5. Actually, Yogeshwar Dutt had recently expressed his desire to contest from the Gohana assembly seat. But the BJP has fielded former Rohtak MP Arvind Sharma from Gohana.
After being ignored by the BJP leadership in the selection of candidates, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt wrote, “When your character is pure, then why is your condition like this? These sinners have no right to test you. You should go in search of yourself.. #sportslife” The wrestler joined the BJP in 2019.
Expressing his desire to contest from the Gohana seat, he told the media last week, “I have expressed my desire to contest the election to the chief minister and the central leadership. I am a sportsperson and an Olympic medallist. I have contested elections from the BJP earlier too, so I want to get a chance.”
The wrestler has got the opportunity to contest elections twice before, but he could not win. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP fielded him from the Baroda seat. He lost to Krishna Hooda of the Congress by about 5,000 votes. After Hooda’s death, elections were held again in Baroda. Dutt lost again in the 2020 elections, this time to Indu Raj Narwal of the Congress.
A day earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 67 candidates for the elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly. The BJP has fielded Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini from Ladwa seat, along with giving tickets to many recent entrants to the party. Former Haryana BJP chief and party national secretary Om Prakash Dhankar has been fielded from Badli, while senior party leader Anil Vij will contest again from his stronghold Ambala Cantt.