Raja Krishnadev Rai, Akbar also had a connection with sports, now Vinesh Phogat… interesting history of the political arena

Author: Avijit Ghosh
For centuries, wrestling and politics have complemented each other. In the final lines of a long farewell note last month, wrestler Vinesh Phogat wrote, “I cannot predict what the future holds for me and what lies ahead in this journey.” It turns out that the future is politics. The star wrestler, who was at the centre of India’s most heart-rending and painful story at the Paris Olympics, is contesting the Haryana assembly elections from Julana seat on a Congress ticket. Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, who was Vinesh’s partner in the anti-sexual harassment campaign against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has also joined the Congress. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been an MP six times. Five times from BJP and once from Samajwadi Party. he/she was also a wrestler in his/her youth.

Vinesh and Bajrang’s entry into the opaque and slippery world of politics is nothing new for the wrestling world. It is a time-tested career practice among wrestlers. However, past records show that being a master of the ring is no guarantee of success in other fields. Elections are a different game.

Ask Vinesh Phogat’s cousin Babita, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist who considers herself a Modi fan. Or ask Yogeshwar Dutt, who won the prized bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Both were BJP candidates in the 2019 Haryana elections. Both faced defeat. Dutt contested the by-election in 2020 as well, but his/her fortunes did not change.

Julana has not seen a Congress candidate win the election since 2009. But, Vinesh Phogat is all set to change the scenario in every respect. One of her rivals, AAP’s Kavita Dalal, is also a former WWE wrestler. She is trained by Dalip Singh Rana (The Great Khali), who has joined the BJP in 2022.

Wrestlers in the political arena broadly fall into two categories: first, those who have won multiple international medals. Second, those who practised their skills in more modest places in villages, towns or small cities but found their real destination in politics.

Former Haryana CM Devi Lal and UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav are elite members of the second group. Journalist Sunita Aron, in her book Winds of Change, has written about Mulayam’s special art ‘charkha daav’, which he/she often used to defeat his/her opponent in district and regional contests. She has written that his/her political guru Nathu Singh, who was a leader of the Praja Socialist Party, first saw Mulayam in a dangal. This proved to be a major turning point in the teacher-wrestler’s career. Virendra Singh Mast, a four-time BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, once boasted of his/her wrestling skills in the Lok Sabha.

Of India’s 8 medals won in Olympic wrestling, 7 have been won by men and women from Haryana. The only wrestler to win an Olympic medal from any other state is Khashaba Jadhav from Maharashtra, in whose state the connection between wrestling and politics has been deep and wide for decades. On July 23, 1931, a Times of India headline read, ‘Wrestlers to contest municipal elections.’ The report said, ‘About half a dozen wrestlers have filed their nominations for the election fray.’

Several former wrestler-turned-politicians like Padmasinh Patil (who is also a doctor) and Sadashivrao Mandlik served as ministers and Lok Sabha members in Maharashtra. Sambhaji Pawar was another wrestler-turned-politician from the western state. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, wrestlers were actively wooed by various political parties. Former wrestler Murlidhar Mohol won from Pune on a BJP ticket, though Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Chandrahar Patil, a two-time winner of the prestigious Maharashtra Kesari title, lost in Sangli.

Wrestlers also made their way into the Upper House of Parliament. Hind Kesari Maruti Mane, who won the Asian Games gold medal in 97kg freestyle in 1962, was one of them. Punjab’s Dara Singh, India’s most popular wrestler ever and with a ‘real man’ image, was sent to the Rajya Sabha as a nominated member by the BJP government.

Wrestling’s association with politics dates back to ancient and medieval India. Known as ‘malla-yuddha’, the sport was patronised by kings and is described in great detail in texts such as the Manasollasa by Chalukya king Someshwara and the Mallapurana. Sociologist Ronojoy Sen writes in ‘Nation at Play’, “Wrestling competitions were held regularly and were presided over by the king and attracted many spectators.” Vijayanagara king Krishnadeva Raya actively participated in the sport. Mughal emperor Akbar also employed wrestlers.

In modern times, local wrestlers have also played the role of musclemen during elections. In October 1964, the Times of India reported that Narayan Sangram Harihar, an independent member of the Poona Municipal Corporation (now Pune), had filed a signed statement that he/she had been kidnapped by three wrestlers who tried to force him/her to vote for the Congress candidate.

In 2004, a Times of India article published a rate card for supplementary services provided by wrestlers during elections, which included booth capturing. Sushil Kumar, India’s only wrestler to win two Olympic medals, is embroiled in a murder case of another wrestler. The case is in court.

(The author is a journalist with The Times of India)