People’s affection will turn into votes for me: Garima Singh

“Rani” Garima Singh, the estranged wife of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, the “Raja” of Amethi, returned to claim her royal status in 2014, leading to “a bitter feud over palace property and legal rights of a wedded woman.” In 2017, she is fighting her first electoral battle on the BJP ticket against the already politically established “second wife” of her husband, Amita Singh of Congress, and incumbent MLA Gayatri Prajapati of the Samajwadi Party. She is said to be gaining a lot of sympathy from the locals in her constituency. Locals are calling her the “original Rani”. She paused during one of her poll campaigns to talk to The Sunday Guardian. Excerpts:

Q: You returned to Amethi after a gap of almost 18 years. What prompted you to take the plunge into politics?

A. Situations, both social and on the family front, took such a turn that I had to join politics. My children (two daughters and a son, who are all campaigning with her with their families) advised me to join politics to help settle many of our problems.

Q. One of your opponents is related to your husband, his second wife Amita Singh. So, is it a personal battle for you?

A. I don’t consider Amitaji a part of our royal family and hence there is nothing personal against her. (At this, her daughter Mahima Singh intervenes and insists that the media should stop calling Amita the second wife of Sanjay Singh as a Hindu man cannot legally marry twice.)

Q. Your husband is with Amita, and he is campaigning for her. Does it affect you?

A. It doesn’t affect me. Neither will it affect me if Maharaj (Sanjay Singh) asks for votes for me as well.

Q. There is said to be a lot of sympathy and affection from locals (a majority among them villagers) who see you as the “original Rani” of Amethi. Do you think that this affection will also turn into votes for you?

A. I hope the way people are showing affection for me, they will definitely also consider me worthy of their votes.

Q. Your constituency is divided along caste and “biradari” lines. A majority of voters belong to the Backward Classes, Dalits and minority communities. How do you plan to attract them?

A. I don’t discriminate among them. They all are my people and I am there to represent them to solve their problems, which have remained unattended for a long time.

Q. Gayatri Prajapati, the incumbent MLA of the area, is said to be very popular among OBC sections. Considering a considerable tilt of minority votes towards the Samajwadi Party, do you see a threat from him?

A. I leave it to media persons like you to inform people about what sort of a politician Prajapati is. Only the media can make people aware about their candidates, their credentials and their reputations before they exercise their franchise.