Senior Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) leader from Barmer, Ummeda Ram Beniwal, a close confidant of party supremo Hanuman Beniwal, resigned from the party and joined the Congress in Jaipur on March 16. Mr. Ram Beniwal’s shift to Congress has put to rest the speculations about the Opposition party’s alliance with the RLP for the Lok Sabha election in Rajasthan.
A member of Barmer Zila Parishad, Mr. Ram Beniwal contested the State Assembly election twice from Baytu constituency as an RLP candidate. He lost to Congress MLA Harish Chaudhary by a thin margin of 910 votes in the 2023 election, though he was considered a prominent face of RLP in the border districts of Barmer and Balotra.
Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra welcomed Mr. Ram Beniwal at the party’s State headquarters and said he was a mass leader coming from a farming community and was connected to his roots. “I have full confidence that your arrival will strengthen Congress and help us raise the issues of farmers, Dalits and weaker sections effectively,” he said.
