NEW DELHI: The ruling BJP and opposition Congress have fielded two high profile sports stars (one retired and the other still in the game) from different constituencies in the national capital.
While the BJP fielded retired cricketer Gautam Gambhir from the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress picked Olympic Bronze medal winning boxer Vijender Singh to fight for the party from the South Delhi constituency.
Gambhir, who replaces sitting BJP MP Maheish Girri, is in a triangular contest against AAP’s Atishi and Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely. On the other hand, Singh is taking on BJP’s sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri and AAP’s Raghav Chadha.
A veteran of 58 Tests and 147 one-day internationals, Gambhir was a key member of the Indian teams that won the World T20 in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011. He formally joined the BJP on 22 March, after announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket on 6 December 2018.
In the case of Singh, it is worth noting that the last active sportsperson to fight an election in India was cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who lost from Gurgaon in 1971 while competing for a regional party.
“Even if I make it to Parliament, I will identify myself as boxer Vijender Singh and will continue to juggle my responsibilities,” Singh told PTI.
After his name was announced, the champion boxer tweeted that he has always made the country proud in the boxing ring and would now strive to serve the people in his new role.
“In more than 20 years of my career in boxing I have always made my country proud in the ring. Now it’s time to do something for my countrymen & serve them. I would like to accept this opportunity,” he posted on Twitter.
Singh, who hails from Haryana’s Bhiwani, thanked the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, for the responsibility given to him.
Meanwhile, staying with the election trail, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Narsingh P Yadav, the Commonwealth Games Gold medal winning wrestler who is an assistant commissioner of police, charging him with campaigning for Congress candidate for the Mumbai North-West seat, Sanjay Nirupam.
The FIR was lodged against Yadav, 40, in the Amboli Police Station, an official told PTI.
On Sunday night, Yadav had campaigned for Nirupam in Yadavnagar area of Andheri West which falls under the Mumbai North-West Lok Sabha constituency.
Nirupam is pitted against Shiv Sena’s sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar, and Yadav is likely to face a departmental enquiry for his indiscretion.
Born in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the wrestler had bagged the Gold medals in the Men’s Freestyle 74 kg category at the Asian Games and at the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, both in 2010, a Silver medal at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2011, besides Bronze medals at World Championship in Las Vegas (2015), Asian Games in Doha and Incheon.
In early 2016, Yadav was embroiled in a doping scandal and barred from contesting for four years owing to which he could not participate in the Rio Olympics later that year.
