Who is Ramesh Bidhuri, whom BJP 'rewarded' for hate speech?

With the BJP assigning a key role to Ramesh Bidhuri, party MP from South Delhi, in Rajasthan elections, the strongman from Tughlakabad is hogging the limelight yet again after facing the heat for his slurs against BSP MP Danish Ali in the recent Parliament session.

A two-term MP, Bidhuri has a significant following among youth in his constituency. He had also been a three-time MLA in Delhi prior to stepping into the Parliament. His strong base in the constituency can also be attributed to the fact that he comes from a prominent family of Tughlakabad which has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for decades.

Controversy’s child

Under fire for his abusive language against a fellow member in the Lok Sabha, the South Delhi MP is not new to controversies. Five women MPs from Congress, CPM, NCP and TMC had, in a complaint to then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, accused Bidhuri of “abusive behaviour” and using “sexist, abusive and derogatory” language in the House way back in 2015.

Later, in 2017, he had raked up Sonia Gandhi’s Italian background to attack the Congress after the Opposition party had questioned the BJP’s ‘acche din’ and failure in fulfilling the promises. Bidhuri was also accused of thrashing and misbehaving with own party cadre during a ‘Run For Unity’ event on October 31, 2018, at Sangam Vihar in his constituency to commemorate the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In May 2019, a show cause notice was issued to Ramesh Bidhuri after he abused Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during a public meeting in South Delhi's Mehruali area. The notice was issued after Raghav Chadha lodged a complaint against him.

There was a faceoff between the supporters of Bidhuri and the AAP candidate from South Delhi, Raghav Chadha, when their paths crossed in the constituency, during the campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Chadha had also filed a plea in the Delhi High Court, challenging the returning officer’s decision to accept Bidhuri’s nomination papers despite “glaring discrepancies”, though he withdrew it later. A year later, Chadha hit back at Bidhuri when a video of him using “derogatory” language against farmers protesting against the Centre’s now-repealed farm laws at Delhi’s borders had gone viral.

Meanwhile, as per the 2019 Lok Sabha election record, Bidhuri has four criminal cases pending against him, including two of defamation and one of voluntarily causing hurt.

Early political life

Bidhuri’s ties with the RSS go back to his childhood days and he is known to be a regular visitor to its local shakha in his area. He was with the ABVP, the RSS’ student wing, during his college life. He got elected as a central councillor of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College as well as the Delhi University’s Executive Council in 1983.

Bidhuri did his B.Com. from this college following which he pursued an LLB from Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut. Subsequently, he rose through the BJP ranks and got close to senior party leaders including Rajnath Singh. In the Delhi BJP, Bidhuri has held various positions, including the posts of general secretary and vice-president.

Electoral debut

Bidhuri entered the electoral arena in the 1993 Delhi assembly elections by contesting from the Tughlakabad seat, though the success didn’t come easy to him. He contested on a BJP ticket for the first time in 1993 and again in 1998, but lost on both the occasions. However, after being elected as an MLA from Tughlakabad in 2003, he won from this assembly seat for two more times – in 2008 and 2013.

His successful track record as an MLA had then party president Rajnath Singh impressed and the latter chose to field Bidhuri as the BJP candidate from the South Delhi parliamentary constituency for the first time in 2009. However, Bidhuri didn’t succeed in his first bid. He contested again from the constituency and emerged victorious in 2014 as well as in 2019.

Development agenda

Interestingly, in Tughlakabad, Bidhuri is seen as the person whose first successful project as an MP was ensuring the construction of a power sub-station, which brought uninterrupted electricity to the area for the first time. He also facilitated the construction of a temple, park and school in his constituency.

Known for his organisational skills, Bidhuri has “never disappointed” his party when asked to mobilise a crowd for it. He holds considerable clout in the party though he may have upset the leadership with his recent act in the new Parliament. Sources said he had been a claimant for a berth in the Union cabinet till a few months ago. Senior BJP members, including some sitting Union ministers, had thrown their weight behind Bidhuri to get him inducted into the cabinet.