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Voting for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.
Vinesh Phogat, who was at the forefront of the wrestlers’ protest last year against then Wrestling Federation of India chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has recently joined the Congress
Wrestler-turned-politician and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat has declared her income for the last financial year at Rs 13.85 lakh, which was the least in the last five financial years for her, and almost half of what she earned in 2019-20 at Rs 24.06 lakh.
She has declared her total assets to be worth over Rs three crore in her election affidavit filed from Haryana’s Julana assembly seat as a Congress candidate. The affidavit shows that Phogat’s income dropped in 2023-2024, a time when she was spearheading wrestlers’ protest against then Wrestling Federation of India chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The 30-year-old Olympian, who recently joined the Congress after taking retirement from wrestling following the shock end to her Paris Olympic campaign, said she had cash in hand of Rs 1.95 lakh and nearly Rs 40 lakh as bank balance.
She has three SUVs worth Rs 64 lakh – including a Volvo XC 60, Hyundai Creta and a Toyota Innova; she also has a TVS scooty worth Rs 40,000. Phogat has declared jewellery worth Rs 2.25 lakh. She has declared owning a self-acquired house in village Kharkhoda worth Rs 2 crore at current market value.
Phogat said she is a ex-government employee and a sportsperson. She recently resigned from her job with the Railways to contest the elections. She has detailed her sources of income as wrestling, advertising, government rewards, salary and interest from banks.
Phogat said she earned a total income of Rs 24.06 lakh in 2019-20, which dropped to Rs 17.41 lakh in 2020-21, Rs 18.42 lakh in 2021-22, Rs 20.51 lakh in 2022-23 and was the least in 2023-24 at Rs 13.85 lakh.
Vinesh has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Madras in 2021, and her name is enrolled in Badhra Assembly constituency of Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Parliamentary constituency. She is making her debut in electoral politics from Julana after participating in the Paris Olympics where she was disqualified from participating in the final match of wrestling.
Voting for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.
