Congress fields Bharat Singh Beniwal against INLD’s Abhay Chautala

The Congress has announced Bharat Singh Beniwal as its candidate for the Ellenabad constituency in Sirsa district. Beniwal, who was previously the MLA from the the erstwhile Darba Kalan constituency in 2005, will be contesting against INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala, BJP’s Amirchand Mehta and JJP’s Anjani Ladha in the upcoming elections.

At 72 years old, Beniwal, who has studied up to Class X, is stepping back into the political arena. His political journey began in 1991 when he contested his first election from Darba Kalan on Congress ticket but failed to wrest the seat. In 1992, he became the chairman of the Nathusari Chopta Block Committee through unanimous support. In 2005, Beniwal gained prominence when he defeated four-time MLA and Rajya Sabha member Vidya Beniwal to win his first legislative seat.

Beniwal’s political career has seen ups and downs. His party denied him a ticket twice after his 2005 victory, but he contested again in 2009, where he gave a tough fight to Om Prakash Chautala. In the 2020 by-elections, he ran against Abhay Chautala but faced defeat. He also contested the 2019 Assembly elections but could not secure a win.

In the 2019 Ellenabad elections, Abhay Chautala received 57,055 votes, followed by BJP’s Pawan Beniwal with 45,133 votes, while Bharat Singh Beniwal garnered 35,383 votes.