Wrestler Babita Phogat, Mahavir Phogat join BJP ahead of Haryana polls

New Delhi: Months before the crucial assembly elections in Haryana, wrestler Babita Phogat and her father Mahavir Phogat on Monday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Phogat is an international wrestler, Olympian and a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. The Phogat family is well known for Bollywood film Dangal which was based on Babita and her elder sister Geeta Phogat’s, also an international wrestler, career.

The father-daughter duo joined BJP at its national headquarters in the presence of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and party's general secretary in charge of Haryana Anil Jain.

Watch: Wrestler & inspiration behind ‘Dangal’ Babita Phogat & father join BJP

Babita Phogat is amongst many sportsperson-turned-politicians who have joined BJP. A prominent among them is Gautam Gambhir, cricketer-turned-Member of Parliament from East Delhi, who joined BJP just before the 2019 general elections.

The list also includes Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, another gold medalist.