Boxer Vijender Singh, India’s first Olympic boxing medalist, quit the Congress party and officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, April 3 ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. His induction took place at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, in the presence of party leaders Vinod Tawde, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Rajiv Babbar.
He said that he joined the BJP in the interest of the nation and to serve the people. “It’s a homecoming for me after five years as I had contested the poll in 2019,” he said, adding that “he is inspired by the honour given by the BJP government to the players”.
Vijender had previously contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the South Delhi constituency as a Congress candidate, albeit unsuccessfully. Recently, there had been speculation about his potential candidacy as the Congress nominee from Mathura, the constituency currently represented by actor and incumbent BJP MP Hema Malini.
Vijender had participated alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the initial phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in January last year, held in Haryana's Karnal. As a prominent figure from the influential Jat community in Haryana, Vijender political allegiance could carry implications beyond his home state, potentially impacting regions such as western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as well.