Phogat, Punia meet Rahul, likely to contest Haryana polls on Cong ticket
New Delhi (PTI): Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday with sources saying that they are likely to contest the upcoming Haryana assembly polls on the party's ticket.
Sources said deliberations are on to finalise the seats for the two wrestlers with Julana and Badli seats under consideration for Phogat and Punia respectively.
The Congress put out a photograph of Gandhi with Phogat and Punia on its official X handle.
AICC general secretary in-charge Haryana Deepak Babaria had on Tuesday said there will be clarity on the candidature of two wrestlers by Thursday.
Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist, while Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified after being found over weight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in. She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.
The Congress's central election committee has cleared the names of candidates for 66 seats out of 90 till Tuesday.
Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.
The Congress and AAP are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the Haryana Assembly polls with hard bargaining from both sides.
Voting on 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8.
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Chhindwara (PTI): Hectic efforts continued for the second day on Wednesday to rescue three labourers trapped under the debris after an under-construction well caved-in at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, police said.
Teams of the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were making all efforts for the last 16 hours to rescue the three persons, including a woman, at Khunajhir Khurd in the district, Collector Sheelendra Singh said.
The rescuers were continuously communicating with the trapped persons, he said.
The incident took place in the village late Tuesday evening, officials said.
Those trapped under the debris have been identified as labourers Shahjadi Khan (50), her son Rashid (18) and nephew Bashid (18), according to officials.
