BJP leader and actress Sonali Phogat dies of heart attack in Goa

Chandigarh: BJP leader Sonali Phogat died of a heart attack on Monday night in Goa. She was 42.

She had gone to Goa with some of her employees. She complained of uneasiness and was taken to hospital.

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar expressed grief in a Twitter post. "Deeply saddened to learn about the death of Sonali Phogat," he wrote.

The actor-politician had posted images and videos on Instagram shortly before her death.

Sonali Phogat contested the 2019 Haryana election from Adampur as a BJP candidate. She lost to Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was the Congress candidate.

Mr Bishnoi joined the BJP and resigned as an MLA last month.

Mr Bishnoi had met with Sonali Phogat last week amid speculation that she would be the BJP candidate from Adampur in



by-elections.

Sonali Phogat rose to fame with her TikTok videos and had a huge following on the video-sharing app.

She debuted as a TV anchor in 2006 before joining the BJP two years later.

She made her acting debut in 2016 with the TV show 'Amma: Ek Maa Jo Laakhon Ke Liye Bani Amma'. She was also a part of the web series, 'The Story Of Badmashgarh' in 2019.

She also participated in the 2020 edition of reality show Bigg Boss.

She made headlines the same year for thrashing an official publicly in Hisar in Haryana. In videos that went viral on social media, Sonali Phogat was seen hitting the man with her footwear.

She has a daughter, Yashodhara Phogat. Her husband, Sanjay Phogat, died at 42 in 2016 at their farmhouse.