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Journalism of Courage
“Herogiri unki utar di, [rough translation: taught them a lesson]” MP Hanuman Beniwal told the media soon after he helped overpower one of the two intruders who entered the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 13).
Beniwal led a group of parliamentarians who cornered the intruder who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitor’s gallery, and released (seemingly harmless) yellow gas in the House. In a video that has gone viral, Beniwal can be seen grabbing the miscreant and delivering a few solid blows before eventually handing him over to the security personnel.
Here are 5 things you need to know about him.
1. Started as student leader
Beniwal began his political career as a student leader, rising to become the student union president of Rajasthan University in the 1990s. In the 2008 Rajasthan assembly elections, he won from the Khinvsar constituency in Nagaur district on a BJP ticket. But soon, his ties with the party started to sour over his contentious relationship with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. He left the BJP in 2013, but again won in the assembly elections from Khinvsar, this time as an Independent candidate.
2. Launched Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in 2018
From 2013 to 2018, he became one of the most vociferous critics of the Raje-government, and consolidated his position as a Jat leader, especially popular among the youth. Finally in 2018, he launched the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), positioned as an alternative to the Congress-BJP duopoly in the state. The party exceeded expectations to win three seats in its very first assembly elections in 2018.
3. Made overtures to Congress, but eventually allied with the BJP
After the elections, Beniwal stated that he is ready to support the Congress in the Assembly, provided Sachin Pilot, a Gujjar leader, becomes Chief Minister. However, with Ashok Gehlot becoming chief minister, this prospect was short-lived. Instead, prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Beniwal joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance “in the interest of nationalism,” he would later say. He was elected as the MP from the Jat-dominated Nagaur constituency in the 2019 General Elections.
4. Fell out — somewhat — with the BJP during 2020’s farmer agitation
As the farmers’ protests of 2020 heated up, the RLP, which describes itself as a party for jawans (soldiers) and kisans (farmers), eventually started distancing itself from the BJP. Beniwal was extremely critical of the controversial farm laws, and in December 2020, he left the NDA and led several protests against the laws. However, last year, the RLP voted for Subhash Chandra’s Rajya Sabha candidacy, much to the BJP’s liking.
5. Beniwal is his own man
So far, the only constant in his political career has been his opposition to the political establishment of both the national parties in Rajasthan, being equally critical of both Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje. In doing so, he has managed to carve out a space for himself, especially among the Jats who have long nursed a grudge against the national parties in the state as despite their numerical strength, no leader from the community has ever become the chief minister of Rajasthan till date. It allied with Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party in the recent state elections and secured a single seat.
