Farmers’ march led by Hanuman Beniwal to Jaipur called off after high-voltage drama

A farmers’ march to Jaipur, led by Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) convener and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal, was called off on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) morning after high drama prevailed for several hours. Mr. Beniwal had left for Jaipur on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) with his supporters tagging behind in hundreds of vehicles.

The farmers were demanding adequate compensation for acquisition of land for railway line and high-tension power transmission line projects in Nagaur district, disbursal of crop insurance, stoppage of illegal gravel mining and withdrawal of police cases registered during agitations in the past.

The government officials held talks with the protesters at a hotel on the Ajmer-Nagaur border late on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) night. Nagaur Collector Arun Purohit and Superintendent of Police Mridul Kachawa were among those who negotiated with RLP leader Dilip Choudhary and the farmers’ delegation, though the first round of talks remained inconclusive.

The district administration later agreed to take strict steps on the farmers’ demand to curb illegal gravel mining by an alleged mafia and gave assurance for fulfilling other demands as well. The farmers had earlier staged a dharna at Riyan Badi in Nagaur to press for their demand and their convoy left for the Nagaur-Ajmer highway.

The police put up barricades at Padu Kalan near the highway and a heavy police deployment was made in the village. Mr. Beniwal’s convoy then changed direction and moved towards Jaipur, but the protesters were halted at the Ajmer-Nagaur border.

The administration gave a written assurance on the farmers’ demands, after which Mr. Beniwal announced cancellation of the march to Jaipur and withdrawal of agitation. The official machinery in Nagaur, Ajmer and Jaipur districts remained on high alert in view of the presence of a large number of Mr. Beniwal’s supporters and farmers in the rally.

Mr. Beniwal said the dharna at Riyan Badi had sent across a “historic message” to the State government to render justice to the people waiting for resolution of their grievances. “The movement to surround Jaipur from all directions was a symbol of determination and self-respect of farmers,” he said.

Mr. Beniwal, who had formed the RLP in 2018 with the support of politically powerful Jat community, had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election after entering an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He later parted ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) during the farmers’ agitation over the now-repealed agriculture sector laws in December 2020.

The RLP supremo won the Nagaur seat for the second time in 2024 as an alliance partner’s candidate fielded by the INDIA bloc. A former BJP MLA and a vocal critic of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Mr. Beniwal defeated BJP candidate and former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.