For Vinesh Phogat, the year 2024 has been momentous due to her forayed dreams of winning a medal in the Olympics and her foray into politics. She is running from Julana in the Jind district for the Haryana Assembly. According to early trends, the wrestler is now ahead of Yogesh Bajrangi of the BJP.

For the Julana seat in Haryana, Olympian Vinesh Phogat is running against former Army captain Yogesh Bairagi in a high-stakes contest, marking her debut in electoral politics. After Phogat returned from the Olympics in Paris in 2024, she was declared the Congress candidate for Julana.

In addition, Phogat is running against Amarjeet Dhanda, the current MLA for the Jannayak Janta Party, for the Julana seat. Furthermore, Kavita Dalal, a former WWE player, has been nominated for the competition by the Aam Aadmi Party. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) occupied the Julana seat from 2009 till 2019, with the last recorded win of the Congress party in this district being in 2005.

Yogesh Bairagi, 35, is the BJP youth wing’s state vice president. He has a remarkable history, having spent nine years in the Indian Army before deciding to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. He was acknowledged for his proactive involvement in relief and rescue efforts during the floods in Chennai, as well as his assistance in the COVID-19 pandemic-related evacuation of Indian people living overseas.