Independent MLA who is pain in Rajasthan govt’s neck: Who is Ravindra Bhati

Since his predetermination arsenic an MLA for the archetypal clip from Sheo successful the December 2023 Assembly polls, Bhati has remained successful the news, either for his initiatives oregon owed to his run-ins with the section administration, constabulary and backstage firms.

According to Magan Khan, a Sub-Inspector astatine Sheo Police Station, Bhati has been booked nether Section 308 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which deals with extortion. Sources said that the instructions regarding the latest FIR came from the precise apical successful the government. Addressing a property league Monday, Bhati said that each 3 FIRs lodged against him truthful acold person been for raising people’s issues.

However, Bhati is besides riding precocious owed to his popularity among the radical for raising section issues. In the twelvemonth since his predetermination arsenic an MLA, helium has spoken up connected lodging for nomadic tribes and Pakistani refugees, protested against the decease of an inmate successful Barmer jail, demanded preservation for locals successful backstage companies, raised the contented of unemployment, and h2o scarcity, powerfulness cuts, etc.

The Sheo MLA has written to ministers, some astatine the Centre and state, and to CM Sharma, implicit immoderate of these issues, including demanding a depository for the obstruction workers who died during the 1965 Indo-Pak War. An acquisition circuit organised by him for 80 meritorious students from Sheo to Jaipur, followed by a Haridwar pilgrimage for 80 elder citizens and escaped physiotherapy camps, has besides earned him goodwill.

Over the past mates of months, his protests person intensified. He has raised the contented of protecting oran (sacred groves) successful Baiya, demanded capable compensation for precocious powerfulness transmission lines, and protested against star companies. Recently, the support for Rohidi Music Festival successful Barmer was denied by Collector Tina Dabi who cited nationalist information – Barmer is simply a borderline territory – among different things, arsenic the reasons for its cancellation; the festival was past shifted elsewhere.

Love-hate ties with BJP

From his pupil national days to the 2023 Assembly polls and past year’s Lok Sabha elections, Bhati’s narration with the BJP has been marked by ups and downs. Having won arsenic an MLA from Sheo, Bhati besides threw his chapeau successful the ringing for the Lok Sabha polls from the Barmer Lok Sabha seat. The BJP deputed Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma to person him to withdraw. But Bhati persisted.

The BJP past near nary chromatic unturned for the contest, fielding past Union curate Kailash Choudhary, and arranging visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Sharma, erstwhile WWE wrestler The Great Khali, Bollywood histrion Kangana Ranaut and different authorities ministers.

But Bhati enactment up a beardown fight, and campaigned successful a chopper successful the past leg, drafting eyebrows. While helium yet lost, the contention for Barmer ended up arsenic the lone existent triangular combat crossed the state’s 25 seats. Ummeda Ram Beniwal won, acknowledgment to the consolidation of Jats.

Bhati’s meteoric rise

The MLA and his adjacent aides mention the web of “friends and brothers” helium built during his clip astatine Jai Narain Vyas University (JNVU) for his speedy rise.

In 2019, past associated with the ABVP, the pupil helping of the RSS, Bhati sought to contention for the students’ national president station but was denied nomination. However, helium went up and contested the polls, and the remainder is history.

The lad of a teacher, hailing from a non-political family, Bhati’s underdog communicative resonated with the students and helium emerged arsenic the archetypal Independent pupil national president successful the university’s 57-year-old history.

“JNVU is occidental Rajasthan’s largest university, wherever astir 30,000 students study. Through pupil politics, helium managed to link with thousands connected a idiosyncratic level – and helium does not hide their names,” 1 of Bhati’s aides said.

His absorption to the assemblage charging fees during the Covid-19 pandemic besides enactment the spotlight connected Bhati, who claimed determination were nary studies happening truthful universities had nary close to complaint fees from students. Bhati’s squad claims that his connection reached implicit 5 lakh students and triggered protests successful 26 districts, including extracurricular the Assembly wherever helium himself led the agitation. Through this period, helium was suspended by the university, jailed and sat connected a hunger strike.

In January 2022, helium yet again grabbed the limelight with his request for an summation successful the fig of seats for students and followed it with the Gauvansh Bachao Abhiyan successful June-July of the aforesaid year, erstwhile bovines were affected by the lumpy disease. Though the past Ashok Gehlot-led Congress authorities provided escaped vaccines for the cattle, Bhati’s squad claims that helium arranged for escaped vaccines for thousands of cattle.

The aforesaid twelvemonth Bhati cemented his presumption further aft helium successfully backed Independent campaigner Arvind Bhati successful the JNVU pupil national polls, wherever the NSUI candidate, who was backed by Gehlot’s lad Vaibhav, faced defeat.

His “Run for Registan” – an consciousness tally for “environment, civilization and nationalism” – successful January 2023 is said to person drawn astir 7,000 participants adjacent arsenic thousands much watched on.

By October-November 2023, astir the clip Assembly elections were connected the horizon, Bhati had established himself successful Sheo, starring the Sheo Jan Sanvad Yatra successful the weeks starring up to the polls. Bhati subsequently joined the BJP but was denied a summons pursuing which helium contested arsenic a rebel and won by a constrictive borderline of 4,000 votes, chiefly owed to the Congress’s authoritative and rebel candidates cutting into each other’s elector base.

Asked erstwhile wherefore helium has ne'er been fixed a summons by the BJP contempt being a erstwhile ABVP and BJP member, Bhati had told The Indian Express that helium tried “every time” but possibly it is “not written successful my kundali (astrological commencement chart)”.

Incidentally, though helium perpetually attacks the BJP authorities successful Rajasthan and accuses it of overlooking Sheo successful its archetypal Budget, Bhati ne'er loses a accidental to praise Modi — similar astatine past year’s Rising Rajasthan Summit.

Said Rajasthan BJP main Rathore: “Woh karega na, virodh mein hai, nirdaliye hai, escaped hai, chutta saand hota hai toh woh kya karega, kuch bhi kare (He volition bash so, arsenic helium is successful Opposition, is an Independent and is free; what volition a bull connected the escaped do, it tin bash thing it pleases).”