The BJP on Monday announced candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding sports stars Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogat, both of whom have won international awards for wrestling, in an attempt to tap into their popularity to win a bigger victory.

Riding the Narendra Modi wave in 2014, the BJP had captured power in the state adjoining Delhi for the first time, winning 47 of the 90 seats.

Repeating Modi’s feat at the national level, the party wants to return to power in Haryana with a bigger majority.

The BJP on Monday announced the first list of 78 candidates. Former India hockey team captain Sandeep Singh also figures on the list. Seven sitting MLAs have been dropped.

Dutt, Phogat and Singh had joined the BJP recently. Babita and her sisters, who are also wrestlers, had inspired the Bollywood film Dangal. The BJP is hoping the popular faces outside politics will help it beat anti-incumbency and sway voters.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will contest from Karnal. The RSS man was a surprise pick for the chief minister’s post in 2014 and internal reports of the party suggest that the low-profile leader enjoys a good level of popularity.

“We are certain to return to power but we are targeting to win by a big margin. Much bigger than 2014,” a BJP leader said.

In the Jat-dominated politics of Haryana, the BJP focused on all the non-Jat castes and this has proved to be a clever and winning strategy for the party. Khattar fits into this strategy.

The most favourable factor for the BJP, however, is the divided and weak Opposition in the state.

Congress, the principal challenger in the state, is split into factions. As is the Indian National Lok Dal, the other contender.