NEW DELHI
The royal families of Rajasthan lost their titles and kingdoms after 1947, but now they are playing a huge part in democratic governments. Rajasthan has 18 royal families who directly or indirectly influence the Rajasthan elections. Some families are in active politics, such as ex-CM Vasundhara Raje, Diya Kumari, and many others, while some royal families are not in active politics, but can influence, such as the royal family of Mewar.
The royal families are popular among the masses, and their being pro-people makes them popular. The first royal to start this was King of Bikaner Karni Singh, a former king of Bikaner who contested the Lok Sabha polls in 1951-52. His granddaughter, Siddhi Kumari, has carried his legacy forward. She is a sitting MLA of the BJP from the Bikaner East constituency. In the 2018 Assembly election, a total of six members of royal families were given tickets, out of which four were able to win.
Out of these four, three belong to the BJP, while one belongs to the Congress. This is Vishvendra Singh, currently serving as minister for tourism and civil aviation in the Rajasthan government, according to the royal family of Bharatpur. The other three members are Vasundhara Raje of the Dholpur royal family; Siddhi Kumari of the Bikaner royal family; and Kalpana Devi of the royal house of Kota. Also, there are two MPs from the royal house, both from the BJP. These two MPs are Dushyant Singh, son of Vasundhara Raje, while another MP, Diya Kumari, is of Royal House of Jaipur.
Prof Nagendra Ambedkar Syle, faculty at the Central University of Rajasthan, said, “Like a traditional king, the royal families have nurtured their constituencies well,” and this is the prime reason they are elected irrespective of political party. He said that after they lost their titles, all of them went into business. They also supported welfare-oriented people working in their respective constituencies by giving them awards, and that’s the reason they’re still popular among the masses. The BJP announced a list of 41 candidates for the Rajasthan assembly elections. This list includes Diya Kumari, belonging to the Royal House of Jaipur, getting a ticket from Vidhyadhar Nagar in Jaipur.