The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Haryana’s Adampur constituency, Sonali Phogat, has raked up a controversy by asking some people at an election rally whether they had come from Pakistan. According to Phogat, these were the people who did not join her in chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. The incident took place on October 7.

Phogat went on to say that the votes of such people were of “no value to her”. “I am ashamed of Indians like you,” she added.

Phogat rose to prominence in local circles by establishing herself as a popular personality on TikTok. With over 166,000 followers on the app, Phogat is up against the three-time MLA from Congress, Kuldeep Bishnoi. The Adampur seat has been a bastion of the Congress for the last fifty years.

Haryana goes to the polls on October 21.