According to sources familiar with the matter, Hanuman Beniwal, the founder and leader of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Naguar in Rajasthan, is currently in advanced discussions to forge an alliance with the Congress party ahead of the forthcoming general elections. It is strongly anticipated that Beniwal will emerge as the opposition candidate representing the INDIA bloc for the same parliamentary constituency.
The genesis of this potential alliance can be traced back to Beniwal's unsuccessful pursuit of a candidacy from the Barmer seat under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner, as per insider accounts. Faced with the BJP's reluctance to accommodate his aspirations, Beniwal pivoted towards the Congress, viewing it as a viable alternative. This strategic maneuver gained traction, especially in light of developments within the Congress camp, where Harendra Mirdha, the party's prospective candidate for Barmer, exhibited reservations about contesting against Jyoti Mirdha, who incidentally happens to be the BJP's candidate and Harendra's niece.
The evolving dynamics have led to a scenario wherein Beniwal is poised to fill the electoral void in the Nagaur constituency, as relayed by a credible source within the Congress hierarchy. It is widely speculated that Beniwal's candidature will be formalized imminently as part of the alliance agreement between the RLP and the Congress, reflecting a convergence of political interests.
Beniwal's trajectory from a BJP stalwart to the helm of RLP, a party he founded in 2018, underscores his evolving political affiliations. Earlier indications of a potential collaboration with the Congress have now materialized, with party insiders affirming his emergence as the most probable candidate, given the absence of a prominent Congress figure in the region.
Beniwal's electoral prowess was demonstrated in the previous parliamentary elections, where he secured a resounding victory over the BJP's Jyoti Mirdha by a staggering margin of 181,260 votes. Subsequently, he transitioned to state-level politics, contesting the assembly elections from the Khinwsar constituency of Nagaur in collaboration with the Azad Samaj Party (ASP) as part of an expansion strategy.
Despite the RLP and ASP contesting a collective total of 124 seats, Beniwal's triumph in Khinwsar, widely regarded as his bastion, was a solitary success amidst electoral setbacks. This strategic realignment underscores Beniwal's enduring influence in the political landscape and augurs well for the imminent collaboration with the Congress party.
