Kirori Singh Bainsla, the face of Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan, joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections on Wednesday. His son Vijay Bainsla also joined the party in presence of Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. A 1962 War veteran, Bainsla was taken as a prisoner of war during the 1965 war. Bainsla’s father served in the British Indian Army, and two of his three sons are presently serving in the Indian Army. The retired Lt Colonel is known to be an advocate of "social emergency". The concept means that for 15 years, society should focus on good health and education.
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Bainsla had spearheaded the Gujjar agitation that had brought Rajasthan to a grinding halt in February earlier this year. The community leaders had blocked Delhi-Mumbai railway tracks and several highways and roads in Rajasthan to press for their demand.
The Gujjar stir had crippled the rail network in Rajasthan as agitators blocked roads and railway tracks. Every day for two weeks, several trains were cancelled or diverted in the Sawai Madhopur district of the state. The district collector had also issued a notice to Bainsla asking him to vacate railway tracks. The sit-in had affected the movement of over 300 trains through the region.
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The members of Gujjar community called off their agitation on Saturday after getting a written assurance from the Rajasthan government that it will stand by them if the bill giving five per cent reservation to the community faces legal hurdles.
The demand for separate five per cent reservation for the Gujjars was struck down by the Rajasthan High Court in 2017. The state government has moved the Supreme Court against the Rajasthan HC order. Currently, reserved category has 49 per cent in Rajasthan including 21 per cent OBC, 16 per cent SC and 12 per cent ST.
Interestingly, Bainsla had joined BJP in 2009 also. He lost from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur seat to Congress' Namo Narain Meena. The Congress candidate had won by a margin of 0.04 per cent or just 317 votes. While Meena bagged 46.82 per cent of the votes polled, Bainsla got 46.78 per cent.
After the defeat, Bainsla had filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court challenging the election verdict alleging the victor had indulged in malpractices. The final result of the election was kept pending due to some problem in EVM of one booth and the official announcement of Meena’s victory was announced a day after schedule.
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