BJP is relying on international medal-winners to break through in constituencies it has never won

Though the BJP seems all set to win a second stint in the Haryana polls, it is leaving no stone unturned to ensure its victory and has harnessed the star power of sportspersons in a State that accounted for every third medal India brought home at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The party hardly faces any impediment — what with the Congress riven with faction fights and the Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD still reeling from a split — but this move seems essentially aimed at shining up the Manohar Lal Khattar regime’s own achievements and making a breakthrough in seats the party has never won. Haryana has traditionally been a successful model of sports nurseries and the Khattar government has encouraged them further, particularly with regard to women’s participation. The BJP is also hoping that the three international sports stars will take the voters away from the deep caste divide, set a neutral context and pull crowds during campaigning. Commonwealth Games gold-winning wrestler Babita Phogat is contesting from Dadri seat in Bhiwani Lok Sabha constituency, former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh has been fielded from Pehowa in Kurukshetra and 2012 London Olympics bronze winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt from Sonepat’s Baroda Assembly segment. BJP has not won in any of these seats before, which have been with the Congress. While Singh and Dutt have already emerged as star attractions, Babita is expected to be the brahmastra. Apart from her credentials as a sportswoman, what adds to her crowd appeal is that sports-obsessed Bhiwani has 12 wrestling and eight boxing clubs. It is the only district in the country to have four Dronacharya and 24 Arjuna awardees.The fact that the Bollywood blockbuster Dangal was inspired by Babita’s life story is just gold dust as her tale  finds consonance with the “beti bachao, beti padhao” campaign of the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre and also tugs at the heartstrings of a State where many households have female wrestlers.

Will this gamble work? Electing a sportsperson does not necessarily mean jobs and prosperity on the ground. For instance, Madhya Pradesh’s hockey infrastructure did not see any development despite Aslam Sher Khan becoming a Union Minister, nor did Navjot Singh Sidhu’s electoral victory do anything for cricket or the youth of Punjab. Also, Haryana’s poster boy Vijender Singh contested the recent Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket and lost.