By The Hindu Bureau

Copyright thehindu

Veteran Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rameshwar Dudi, died at his residence in Bikaner on Saturday (October 4, 2025) after a prolonged illness. He was 62. He had remained in a coma for the past two years following a brain stroke in August 2023.

Belonging to the Jat community, Dudi was considered a bold and assertive farmer leader who often confronted the authorities for defending the rights of peasants in his region. He was elected an MP from Bikaner in 1999 at the young age of 36 years, succeeding veteran leader Balram Jakhar.

Dudi served as the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly from 2013 to 2018 during the Bharatiya Janata Party government, having been elected an MLA from Bikaner district’s Nokha constituency. His wife, Sushila Dudi, is at present the Congress MLA from Nokha.

Dudi’s body was cremated at his farmhouse in Udairamsar, near Bikaner, on Saturday afternoon in the presence of senior Congress leaders, party workers and his supporters. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra, and LoP Tika Ram Jully were among those who attended the funeral.

Born on July 1, 1963, Dudi began his political career as a National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) leader, and later entered mainstream politics by winning an election as Pradhan in the Nokha Panchayat Samiti in 1995. He also served as Zila Pramukh of Bikaner for two terms before his election as MLA from Nokha.

Dudi lost the Assembly polls in 2018, when Congress was elected to power in the State. The party fielded his wife from the Nokha Assembly seat in 2023 because of his ill health, and she won by defeating BJP’s Bihari Lal Bishnoi.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condoled Dudi’s death. Mr. Gehlot said Dudi had worked tirelessly for the farming community and his departure at the young age would be deeply felt.