Shamlo Kalan, Haryana: Kavita Dalal She comes out of the automobile with the sunroof, folds her hands and accepts the smiles of the half-dressed boys and girls gathered on either side of a street.
The campaign song, “Quickly Bring the Poetry (Let’s Pick the Poetry Now)” playing from one of the trucks, fortunately stops as if on cue. The AAP candidate from Julana brushed aside the cow dung – an almost integral part of the village landscape – and walked into one of the houses where old men and old women, some veiled, sat waiting. She folds her hands like a seasoned politician and says, bowing and asking for his blessings and votes.
Kavita’s new act is completely different from her World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) avatar. A few years ago, she was performing her signature roundhouse kick as Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman to appear on the global professional wrestling stage. His 2017 face-off with fellow WWE wrestler Dakota Kai earned 76 million views on YouTube. Trained by The Great Khali, the five-foot-nine-inch farmer’s daughter from Malvi village in Haryana’s Jind district soon acquired her own nicknames: Lady Khali and Hard KD.
That was until, in a shrewd career maneuver, she switched Politics And now ‘has been transformed into’Julana’s daughter (Julana’s daughter)’.
a new arena
“Kavita is an achiever in sports. He has shown courage and perseverance both in life and career. We gave him the AAP ticket because we wanted to encourage someone like him,” says Sushil Gupta, president, AAP Haryana. However, for most voters, Kavita is the “other” wrestler in the electoral fray.
After being a wrestler it couldn’t have been anything else Vinesh PhogatThe tragic hero of Paris 2024 and warrior against sexual harassment, joined the Congress and became a candidate from Julana.
Vinesh, who graduated from Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Madras, in the fall of 2021, will become the first woman to win this Jat stronghold seat if she wins over 41-year-old businessman Amarjeet Dhanda of Dushyant Chautala’s party, JJP. Achieves. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, all three are Jats, a numerically substantial and electorally significant caste in this assembly seat, which is 92% rural.
BJP’s non-Jat candidate Captain Yogesh Bairagi, who describes himself as an airline pilot, and INLD candidate Surendra Lather, a microblogging site, had switched parties earlier this month.
Till last month, he was the first BJP leader to praise the work of the state government on social media. Lather’s current X header promotes the “study, medicine, earning” model. Given the size of their long convoys, such as freight trains, they have no shortage of support.
When caught, 41-year-old Kavita faces a difficult task. Vinesh, 30, is a formidable opponent who is contesting for an emerging party. JJP and INLD also have some support. Kavita’s party has not yet been able to leave its mark in the state. Her 28,000 followers on Instagram are no match for Vinesh’s 1 million followers on the photo and video-sharing site. And, the difference in popularity isn’t just on social media. Speaking to TOI, Kavitha avoided naming opponents, focusing only on the rival parties.
“I don’t think I am competing with anyone,” she says, “Haryana has seen the rule of both the Congress and the BJP, and you can see that conditions have become worse.” She says that people want change and she is counting on the youth to bring it. “Youth like the policies of (former Delhi CM, Arvind)” Kejrival,
He fulfills his promises. He has shown this in Delhi and Punjab. Now, they want to do the same in Haryana,” she says, as her caravan takes a roadside tea break. AAP’s slogan is, “Haryana’s condition will change, now Kejriwal will bring it.” (We will change the condition of Haryana, we will elect Kejriwal).
In 2019, AAP contested 46 seats in Haryana, winning zero and garnering just 0.5% of the votes polled. AAP Haryana’s Gupta says that the party did not put its emphasis in the 2019 campaign.
“The contestants spent their money mainly to gain experience,” he says. “This time, we hope to be kingmakers, if not kings,” he says optimistically. Before, Kavita was a weightlifter who won a gold medal in the 75 kg category at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. But WWE seemed like a bridge too far. In previous interviews, she has spoken at length about how, as a single mother, she overcame societal restrictions to become a professional wrestler in America.
“I fought in WWE wearing a salwar suit. I wanted to set an example, inspire other girls, show that there are no barriers,” she says. “Now, I want to be a role model in politics,” asserts Kavita. The wrestler-turned-politician claims she wants to do things that have not been done till now. “I am a grassroots person. I want to solve the problems of the common man.
They want good schools, hospitals, sports stadiums, jobs; Women need respect and security. I would like to work in these areas,” she says. On October 5, Julana will decide whether she wants to give Kavita a chance to express her views.
