Kuldeep Bishnoi is an Indian political leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He serves as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from Adampur in Hisar, Haryana for the fourth time in 2022. He is a former member of the Congress Central Working Committee (CWC). Kuldeep Bishnoi, along with his father, Bhajan Lal Bishnoi, founded a political party named Haryana Janhit Congress in 2007, which was a part of the Indian National Congress till 2016.
Wiki/Biography
Kuldeep Bishnoi was born on Sunday, 22 September 1968 (age 54 years; as of 2022) in Mandi Adampur, district Hisar (Haryana). His zodiac sign is Virgo. In 1990-91, Kuldeep Bishnoi completed his bachelor’s degree in Arts from D.A.V. College, Chandigarh.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 65 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Bhajan Lal Bishnoi, and Bhajan Lal was a former Union Cabinet Minister (Agriculture; Environment & Forests) and three-time Chief Minister of Haryana.
His mother’s name is Jasma Devi.
He has a brother named Chandra Mohan Bishnoi, who is a well-known Indian politician.
Wife & Children
On 18 November 1991, Kuldeep Bishnoi got married to Renuka Bishnoi. Renuka was a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Hansi, Hisar district in Haryana. The couple has three children named Bhavya Bishnoi, Chaitanya Bishnoi, and daughter, Sia Bishnoi. His elder son Bhavya Bishnoi contested the legislative elections from the Hisar constituency in 2019 and lost the elections to his rival Brijendra Singh, a BJP leader and a bureaucrat-turned-politician and son of former Union minister Birender Singh. Bhavya again received a ticket from the BJP to contest the elections from the Adampur assembly constituency in Haryana in October 2022.
His younger son, Chaitanya Bishnoi works as a professional cricketer for an Indian team named Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, and he often represents Haryana in the Ranji Trophy. His daughter, Sia Bishnoi, lives and studies in New York, USA.
Caste
Kuldeep Bishnoi belongs to the OBC community.
Address
Kuldeep Bishnoi resides at 108, Sector – 15, Hisar, Haryana.
Signature/Autograph
Career
Kuldeep Bishnoi ventured into politics in 1998 when he contested the Legislative assembly elections from the Adampur constituency in Haryana and won. In 2004, he was chosen as the Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Lok Sabha elections from the Bhiwani constituency by defeating his rivals and the sons of Om Prakash Chautala, who was serving as Chief Minister of Haryana at the time and Bansi Lal, who served as a former Chief Minister of Haryana.
Haryana Janhit Congress – (HJC) (BL)
After Kuldeep was expelled from the Indian National Congress in 2007, Kuldeep Bishnoi, along with his father, Bhajan Lal Bishnoi, established his own political party Haryana Janhit Congress – (HJC) (BL). He was expelled for blaming the then Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for hurting the interests of the Haryana farmers by fostering the special economic zones (SEZs) on fertile land.
In October 2009, his party won seven seats during the state assembly elections. His representatives contested on 89 seats out of the total 90 constituencies in Haryana. He contested from the Adampur constituency and won. His father contested from the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency seat and won. After the declaration of the election results, six out of seven elected representatives of the Haryana Janhit Congress – (HJC) (BL) party repositioned their support to the Indian National Congress. These representatives were allured by the INC for some important ministerial posts. Kuldeep Bishnoi filed cases against these six representatives in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which cited in its verdict that the betrayers were disqualified from being appointed as members of the Haryana Legislative Assembly.
Alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party
Kuldeep Bishnoi and his HJC party entered into an alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party in 2011 soon after the demise of his father, Bhajanlal Bishnoi. The alliance ceremony of the two parties was attained by the noted BJP leaders such as Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, and former Minister Prof. Ganeshi Lal during a press meeting. Thereafter, he re-contested from the Adampur constituency in the same year and won the elections by defeating his rivals Ajay Singh Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jai Prakash of the Indian National Congress. The alliance between the two parties came to an end in 2014 just before the state assembly elections in Haryana. The reason for broke up was claimed by Kuldeep Bishnoi in a media talk. He narrated that BJP was not keeping the terms and conditions of the party. In 2022, he was ousted from the Indian National Congress, and on 4 August 2022, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Alliance with the Indian National Congress
Kuldeep Bishnoi and his HJC party entered into an alliance with the Indian National Congress in 2016 after a party meeting with the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Soon, Kuldeep was appointed as a Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). During the Rajasthan Assembly elections in 2018, Kuldeep Bishnoi was a chief campaigner of the elections. In the following year, he contested the Adampur constituency elections during the state assembly elections and won the elections by defeating his rival and Bhartiya Janata Party candidate Sonali Phogat by a margin of 29782 votes.
Literary Works
Kuldeep Bishnoi is a renowned author. He has penned a few short poems. He frequently writes short columns for online websites on different socio-economic issues in India.
Controversies
Named in Sonali Phogat Murder Case
- Soon after the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat, in September 2022, her family members blamed Kuldeep for her murder and death case. Rinku Dhaka, the brother of Sonali Phohat, stated in a press meeting that Sonali was Kuldeep’s arch-rival in politics and had contested against Kuldeep. Rinku stated,
At Goa, Sonali’s PA Sudhir Sangwan asked our person from where he belongs. When he told Sudhir that he hails from Hisar, Sudhir asked the person twice whether Kuldeep ji had sent him. We have serious doubts on Kuldeep Bishnoi as Sonali was his arch rival and she had contested against him.”
Blamed for Cross-voting
- In June 2022, Kuldeep Bishnoi was blamed for cross-voting against Congress Rajya Sabha nominee Ajay Maken in Haryana by the INC leaders. It was in the news that he voted in favour of JJP-backed and BJP-supported Independent candidate, Kartikeya.
Assets/Properties
Movable Assets
- Deposits in Banks: Rs. 55,04,886
- Bonds, Debentures and Shares in companies: Rs. 2,89,15,419
- Personal loans/advance given: Rs. 40,82,04,471
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 1,69,02,191
- Jewellery: Rs. 1,67,66,115
Immovable Assets
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 21,81,48,281
- Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 12,03,00,000
- Commercial Buildings: Rs. 5,68,11,765
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 9,29,78,109
Liabilities
- Loans from Banks / FIs: Rs. 72,43,586
- Loans due to Individual / Entity: Rs. 9,92,86,546
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2019. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents.
Net Worth
Kuldeep Bishnoi’s net worth for the year 2019 was estimated to be Rs. 85.8 Crores.
Note: It excludes the net worth of his wife and dependents.
Facts/Trivia
- Bhajan Lal served as the Chief Minister of Haryana for eleven years. Reportedly, the relationship between the families of Bishnois and Gandhis very close.
- At a young age, Kuldeep Bishnoi was an excellent cricket player. Once, he posted a picture on one of his social media accounts along with the cricket legend Kapil Dev while receiving the ‘man of the series award.’
- In March 2010, during a protest in Chandigarh against the increasing rates of commercial products and unemployment, he was lathi-charged by the Chandigarh police along with his party workers. Reportedly, he was demanding fair government rules and policies for the farmers.
- Kuldeep Bishnoi is an avid dog lover. He frequently posts pictures of his pet dog on his various social media accounts.
- According to Kuldeep Bishnoi, he often organises and participates in protests and campaigns related to various political, social, or economic issues in Haryana. As a social worker, the upliftment of the rural and underdeveloped urban areas of Haryana is on his priority list. He keenly focuses on the policies related to education, health, infrastructure, and small-scale industries of his jurisdiction. He frequently leads public movements related to the awareness of environmental problems.
- Once, in a media conversation, Kuldeep Bishnoi narrated his hobbies which include reading and writing books and debating and discussing the importance of various forums in India and its issues.
- Kuldeep Bishnoi is a part of numerous sports and Cricket clubs in Haryana, for instance, since 2022, he is representing Bishnoi Cricket Club Team in his state. In his leisure time, Kuldeep Bishnoi plays soccer, volleyball, and snooker.
- In June 2022, the Indian National Congress dismissed Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party posts and also removed him from the post of Special Invitee of the Congress Working Committee. According to the media sources, he cross-voted in favour of the JJP-backed and BJP-supported independent candidate, Kartikeya. Kuldeep voted against the Congress Rajya Sabha nominee Ajay Maken in Haryana. Soon after he was dismissed from the INC, on 3 August 2022, he quit the Legislative Assembly. On 4 October 2022, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress leader said,
Congress President has expelled Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi, from all his present party positions including the post of Special Invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect.”
- According to Kuldeep Bishnoi, the Indian Congress President, Rahul Gandhi takes decisions under pressure after consulting only three-four people from the party. After leaving the Congress party, while talking to a media house, Kuldeep Bishnoi blamed Rahul Gandhi for the misfortune of the Indian National Congress. Kuldeep cited,
He takes decisions after consulting three-four people who are his immediate coterie. His wrong decisions are resulting in our repeated losses. Why do you think Scindia left the party? Because RG does not meet anybody. He [RG] has a bad coterie. They are the people who do not understand politics. People with foreign education cannot win votes here.”