Sonali Phogat, an actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Haryana, died of a heart attack in Goa on Monday night. She was 41. The former Bigg Boss contestant had complained of uneasiness and was rushed to the hospital by her staff.
According to News18, the actor was in Goa for two days for a shoot. In 2016, Sonali’s husband Sanjay Phogat was found dead at a farmhouse. Currently, her parents are on their way to Goa from Bhuthan village in Haryana.
Hours before her death, the actor-turned-politician had posted images and videos on Instagram. She was sporting a bright pink safa (head wrap) on her head.
Mourning her death, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said on Twitter: "Deeply saddened to learn about the death of Sonali Phogat."
Sonali is survived by her seven-year-old daughter.
Who was Sonali Phogat?
Sonali was born in Bhuthan village in Haryana's Fatehabad district in a middle-class family. She was married to Sanjay Phogat, who died under mysterious circumstances in December 2016.
According to India Today, Sonali’s elder sister is married to Sanjay's elder brother. She has two other sisters and a brother.
Sonali started her acting career on small screen by anchoring Haryanvi shows for Doordarshan eight years ago.
Her first major break came when she was cast in Zee TV's popular serial 'Amma: Ek Maa Jo Laakhon Ke Liye Bani Amma', where she played the wife of Nawab Shah. The series was based on the India-Pakistan Partition. In 2019, she acted in the web series 'The Story Of Badmashgarh'.
Sonali rose to fame with her videos on the social media platform, Tik Tok, while it was still accessible in India, and had a huge fan following.
Bigg Boss 14 contestant
Sonali participated in the 14th season of popular reality show Bigg Boss. She was a wild card entry. She had confessed on the show of harnessing feelings for co-contestant Aly Goni, despite knowing that he was in love with Jasmin Bhasin. Jasmin was voted out of Bigg Boss the same day Sonali entered the show.
A politician
Sonali contested from the Adampur constituency in the 2019 assembly election from Haryana on a BJP ticket against Kuldeep Bishnoi. Bishnoi, who was then with the Congress, was a three-time MLA and son of former two-time chief minister Bhajan Lal.
Although Phogat lost the election, her popularity shot up in the area. Bishnoi, who joined the BJP recently, met her last week amid speculation that Sonali would contest the upcoming bypolls as the BJP candidate from Adampur.
