Dynasty Watch

The feudal order may have given way to the democratic system in Rajasthan but the state has only seen one set of heriditary rulers replac...

The feudal order may have given way to the democratic system in Rajasthan but the state has only seen one set of heriditary rulers replacing another. Instead of royal dynasties, political dynasties are now the order of the day with both the Congress and the BJP conforming to the trend.

The current elections have been marked by the launch of two VIP sons Manvendra Singh and Jagat Singh. The former, son of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, is the BJP candidate from Barmer, while the latter, son of former Union Minister Natwar Singh, is the Congress nominee from Bharatpur.

The most prolific of all political dynasties in the state, however, has been the former ruling family of Bharatpur. Its present head, Vishvendra Singh, is the BJP candidate from the constituency. The members of the clan elected to the Lok Sabha earlier are Brijraj Singh, Bachu Singh, Deepa Singh and Divya Singh, while Maan Singh and Arun Singh have been members of the Assembly. Divya is the wife of Vishvendra Singh.

The BJPnominee from Jhalawar, Vasundhara Raje, is the daughter of senior party leader Vijaya Raje Scindia. The party nominee from Bhilwara, Vijendra Pal Singh, is the son of ex-MLA Gopal Singh. The BJP candidate from Sikar, Subhash Maharia, is a nephew of former Congress minister Ram Dev Singh Maharia. Shyam Lal Banshiwal, fielded from the Tonk reserved seat by the BJP, is a brother of Jai Lal Banshiwal, an ex-MLA of the Congress. Nihal Chand, who is contesting the Ganganagar Reserved seat on the BJP ticket, is a son of ex-MP Bega Ram.

The Congress is not lagging behind in this regard. Abrar Ahmed, party nominee against Vasundhara Raje in Jhalawar, is husband of MLA wife Yasmin Abrar while Rajesh Pilot, contesting the Dausa seat, has wife Rama Pilot active in politics.

Also an MLA, Usha Meena, fighting from the Sawai Madhopur ST constituency, is the daughter of Chhuttan Meena, ex-MP. Her brother, Shriram Meena, is an ex-MLA. Jitendra Singh, son of Mahendra Kumari, Congress candidate from Alwar, is a memberof the Assembly. Shanti Pahadia, wife of former chief minister Jagannath Pahadia, who is the Congress candidate from the Bayana reserved constituency, is also an MLA. Vijay Lakshmi Vishnoi, a daughter of Congress nominee Poonam Chand Vishnoi Jodhpur is an MLA. Her husband, Sunil Vishnoi, is also an ex-MLA.