"Set Out...": Denied Haryana Poll Pass, Yogeshwar Dutt Shares Cryptic Poem

Overlooked by the BJP leadership in its selection of candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls, Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt put out a cryptic post on X this morning. The wrestler has posted a Hindi poem, which translates to "when the character is pure, why is this your condition? Sinners don't have the right to test you, set out on a search to find yourself".

Mr Dutt, who joined the BJP in 2019, had earlier expressed willingness to contest the upcoming election from Gohana seat.

"I have expressed my wish to contest elections to the Chief Minister and the central leadership. I am a sportsperson, and an Olympic medallist, and I have contested elections from BJP earlier also, so I want to get a chance," he told the media last week.

The wrestler has got poll opportunities twice in the past, but failed to score a win. In the 2019 Assembly election, the BJP fielded him in Baroda seat. He lost to Congress's Krishan Hooda by nearly 5,000 votes. Following Mr Hooda's death, Baroda went to the polls again. In the 2020 election, Mr Dutt lost again, this time to Congress's Indu Raj Narwal.

The BJP has ignored Mr Dutt even as the Congress inducted wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia. The two are likely to contest the Haryana state polls -- Ms Phogat from Julana and Mr Punia from Badli.

Mr Dutt and Ms Phogat and Mr Punia were on the opposite sides during the massive row over sexual harassment allegations against former wrestling boss and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. At one point, Ms Phogat had accused the fellow wrestler of intimidating women wrestlers who complained against the BJP heavyweight and discouraging wrestlers from joining the protests against him. The wrestling world, she had said, will remember Mr Dutt for licking the soles of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

The 90 seats in Haryana Assembly will vote on October 5. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8. The BJP yesterday released its first list of candidates with 67 names. The Congress is likely to release its first list soon.