Jaipur: Hindu rightwing organization Karni Sena's founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi breathed his last at SMS Hospital here late on Monday night. Lokendra Singh, popularly known as Kalvi Saheb died due to cardiac arrest. He was undergoing treatment since June 2022 after suffering a brain stroke.
Kalvi will be cremated at his native Kalvi village in Nagpur Tuesday afternoon. Lokendra Singh Kalvi made social reforms as his pitch in politics. He founded the Samajik Nyay Manch along with Devi Singh Bhati, a breakaway leader from the BJP in 2003. He also contested polls under this banner in the 2003 Rajasthan Assembly elections.
Though his party won only one seat, he joined the Congress party before the 2008 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections. In 2014, he switched sides to the Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. While keeping away from electoral politics, he focused on social issues.
Kalvi founded the Karni Sena, also known as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, in 2006 to oppose caste-based reservation in India. He courted controversy for opposing India's caste reservation system. He was known for his rivalry against former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. During Raje's first term, Kalvi organised demonstrations against several policies of the Raje government.
Lokendra Singh Kalvi had been at loggerheads with Bollywood on several occasions. He was against many productions, both on big and silver screens. He led the Karni Sena to protest against the release of Ashutosh Gowariker's film Jodhaa Akbar in Rajasthan in 2008. His Sena had also created a ruckus at the Jaipur Literature Festival, opposing Ekta Kapoor's television series Jodhaa Akbar.
The Karni Sena also courted controversy for opposing the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavat in 2018. Kalvi alleged that the film's content would tarnish the dignity of the Rajputs in Rajasthan. In 2017, the Karni Sena created a ruckus at the Padmavat film set and led violent protests in various districts of India.
Lokendra Singh Kalvi's father Kalyan Singh Kalvi was a prominent Janata Dal politician from Rajasthan. Kalyan Singh was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha in the 1989 general election from the Barmer constituency. He was a close confidante of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. In 1991, he became a cabinet minister in the Chandra Shekhar government and held the Energy portfolio.
