A Rajput show of strength as Brij Bhushan makes star appearance in Haryana wrestling heartland
The leader who is facing sexual harassment allegations from several wrestlers was invited to an event to felicitate wrestler Rachna Parmar, in Bond Kalan village of Charkhi Dadri district. Parmar, a member of the Rajput community, recently won a gold medal in the women's 43 kg category at the Under-17 Asian Wrestling Championship in Vietnam.
Charkhi Dadri is also the home district of Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who is currently a Congress MLA from Julana in Jind district. In 2023, Phogat was among the wrestlers who led a protest in Delhi against Singh over the sexual harassment allegations.
Brij Bhushan was invited, along with local BJP MLA Sunil Sangwan and Lok Sabha MP Dharambir Singh, for the felicitation event by the Rajput Mahasabha. Both members of the Jat community like Phogat, Sangwan and Dharambir reportedly left the venue before Singh's arrival, citing time constraints.
However, this is being viewed as an effort to avoid ruffling the feathers of the Jat community, given the caste equations in Haryana. Several khap leaders from the region had publicly opposed Brij Bhushan's visit, and urged the organisers not to invite him.
In a statement, local khap leader Krishan Phogat said: 'Such persons come to break brotherhood, not to unite. The local MLA and MP should not attend the function either.'
However, the Rajput Mahasabha leader from Charkhi Dadri, Pawan Sanjarwas, called those opposing the visit 'anti-social elements' and warned that they would be 'taught a lesson' if they even tried to protest.
Sanjarwas told The Indian Express the opposition to Brij Bhushan had only helped the Rajput Mahasabha. 'It led to more presence at the felicitation event.'
Sanjarwas also said that Rajput votes would consolidate behind the BJP with Brij Bhushan's visit.
Colonel (retd) Devender Singh Rana, a Rajput community leader from Karnal, also supported the visit, saying it would help make a political impact.
The Rajput community, estimated to be around 8% of Haryana's population, is concentrated mainly in the districts of Rewari, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Ambala, and Karnal, Rana said. According to him, this translated into electoral sway in 17 of the 90 Assembly constituencies. Still, as of now, Haryana has only two Rajput MLAs – Shyam Singh Rana (Radaur), who is a minister in the BJP's Nayab Singh Saini government, and Yoginder Singh Rana (Assandh).
While the Rajput community is traditionally considered a BJP vote bank, cracks had surfaced in 2023 over the controversy surrounding a statue of 9th-century king Mihir Bhoj. Thirty-five BJP leaders from Kaithal had threatened to resign after some party members from the Gurjar community referred to the king as 'Gurjar Pratihar Samrat Mihir Bhoj' during a statue unveiling. The contention of the Rajput community is that Mihir Bhoj belongs to the community and should be referred to as 'Hindu Samrat' instead. The matter is currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Vinod Rana Thamber, a Rajput leader from Ambala, said Brij Bhushan's visit should not be seen in the context of politics. 'The event organised in Bond Kalan village was just a social function to honour a member of the community.'
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