Boxer and former Congress leader Vijender Singh being greeted by BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri as he joins the party ahead of Lok Sabha elections, at BJP HQ in New Delhi on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Boxer Vijender Singh, who was going to be fielded by the Congress against actor and BJP MP Hema Malini from Mathura, on Wednesday joined the BJP.
The Olympian, who had joined the Congress in 2019, was posting content in support of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi hours before he jumped ship.
In 2019, he was fielded by the Congress from the South Delhi constituency, losing to Ramesh Bidhuri.
Singh’s witching, which might have come as a shock to the Congress, is set to benefit the BJP in warming up to the Jat community. Singh is the second major leader after RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary announced an alliance with the BJP.
“This is like a ghar wapsi (homecoming) for me; I had contested the elections in 2019. The way sportspersons are getting respect in the country and abroad now is commendable. When we used to go abroad to fight earlier, to the UK and Dubai, for instance, certain things would happen at the airports sometimes. But since the BJP and the (Narendra) Modi government came to power, we can go anywhere easily,” Singh said.
“I would like to thank PM Modi and the BJP for the respect that sportspersons get under this government. I would like to be a part of this government, help people and show them the right path. I am the same Vijender that I was and will call a spade a spade,” he added.
Singh, who became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal by clinching the bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had lent his support to wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia after the had alleged sexual harassment against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.