Phool Singh Baraiya
Phool Singh Baraiya is an Indian National Congress politician and member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elected in 2023 from Bhander. He also served as member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1998 from Bhander with the ticket of Bahujan Samaj Party.
In 2024 Lok Sabha Election Phool Singh Baraiya is defeated by BJP's Sandhya Ray by a margin of 64840 votes.
Early life and education
Phool Singh Baraiya was born in 1962 in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Mechanical Engineering from Madhav Institute of Technology and Science Gwalior in 1988.Political Career
Early political career
Phool Singh Baraiya began his political career in the early 1990s with the Bahujan Samaj Party. A close associate of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, Baraiya played a key role in building the party’s organization in Madhya Pradesh. As the state president of the BSP, he led the party to its best-ever performance in the state, winning a record 11 assembly seats in the 1993 and 1998 elections.In 1998, Baraiya was elected as a Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Bhander (SC) constituency as a BSP candidate. However, ahead of the 2003 assembly elections, he was expelled from the party by BSP President Mayawati following internal differences.
Association with the Indian National Congress
Baraiya later joined the Indian National Congress. In the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, he contested again from Bhander constituency and won by a margin of 29,438 votes, defeating BJP candidate Ghanshyam Pirouniya.2024 Lok Sabha election
In 2024, he contested the Lok Sabha election from the Bhind (SC) parliamentary constituency on an INC ticket but was defeated by BJP candidate Sandhya Ray by a margin of 64,840 votes.Controversies
Ahead of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, Baraiya attracted attention after publicly stating that he would blacken his face outside the Raj Bhavan if the Bharatiya Janata Party won even 50 seats in the election. Following the BJP’s landslide victory, securing 163 seats, the statement was widely circulated and criticised in political discourse.In January 2026, Baraiya again sparked widespread controversy after remarks made during a media interview that were widely criticised as offensive and misogynistic. According to multiple media reports, he allegedly linked sexual violence to women's appearance and made comments associating rape with caste and religious beliefs, including references to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women. The remarks triggered sharp reactions on social media and across the political spectrum. The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemned the comments, with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan calling them “shameless” and asserting that women should never be viewed or divided on the basis of caste or appearance. Media reports stated that the Indian National Congress distanced itself from the remarks, while opposition parties demanded an apology and disciplinary action. The controversy also intensified political debate in the state ahead of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Madhya Pradesh.