The usual candor, like pompous paraphernalia and ostentatious hoopla of yesteryear, may not be there. But the Blue Blood is still on the boil.The erstwhile kings and queens, though have lost sheen of power over along period of time, still bask in the glory of the bygone era. And many of them are lining up to contest at the hustings.
Dushyant Singh, the son of Shri Hemant Singh, the erstwhile Maharaja of Dholpur in Rajasthan, is seeking re-election from Jhalawar on BJP ticket. In Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, the son of Raja Sir Padam Singh is set to contest from Shimla seat. Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh has always been a bastion of the blue blooded Scindias where minister of state Jyotiraditya Scindia is re-contesting on Congress ticket.
Raja of Ayodhya Vimlendra Mishra is lured by Mayawati to win back his praja in Ayodhya. Vimlendra Mishra is contesting from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat on BSP ticket. Another royal of Rampur, Begum Noor Bano who is the widow of late Nawab Zulfikar Ali Khan is contesting on Congress ticket again. Last time she was defeated by actress Jaya Prada from Rampur.
In Chhattisgarh, BJP is fielding Dilip Singh Judeo from Bilaspur. He hails from the Royal family of Jashpur. With battle lines drawn, senior Congress leader Sanjay Singh, who hails from the royal family of Ramnagar in Amethi, is making efforts to win over his former “praja.” RPN Singh, yet another member of the blue brigade, has intensely been lobbying to contest on Congress ticket from Kushinagar seat. He hails from Padrauna state. Another Congress candidate from Pratapgarh seat is Rajkumari Ratna Singh, who is a descendant of erstwhile Kalakankar state. Ratna Singh was elected from this seat twice in 1996 and then again in 1999. Ratna Singh will be contesting as Congress candidate from Pratapgarh.
In Maharashtra, Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, the 13th descendant of Maratha King Shivaji Bhosale, is contesting on NCP ticket from Satara. Another Bhosale hair Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati too is roped in by the NCP to fight on Kolhapur seat.
In Orissa, Sangeeta Devi Singh will fight on BJP ticket from Bolangir while B K Deo from Kalahandi. In distant Punjab, Congress weighs its options heavily on the former Chief Minister Amrinder Singh. Amrinder, himself a descendant of erstwhile princely state of Patiala, is a king-maker in Punjab politics.His wife Preneet Kaur a sitting MP would contest from patiala and his son Raninder Singh will contest from Bathinda.
