Royals to try luck in electoral battle

— Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, six-time Chief Minister, has again been projected as the party leader if the Congress returns to power. Being the scion of the erstwhile Bushair state, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 from the Mahasu seat. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times in 1967, 1971, 1980 and 2009.

— Asha Kumari, Dalhousie MLA, hails from Madhya Pradesh. She was married in the Chamba royal family and has won the Assembly elections in 1985, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2012. She is also the AICC secretary and in-charge of the Congress affairs in Punjab.

— The scion of the Kullu royal family Maheshwar Singh, former BJP president and Lok Sabha MP, is again contesting on the BJP ticket. Having drifted away from the BJP before the 2012 Assembly elections and floating his own political outfit Himachal Lokhit Party, he is now back in the saffron party. He was elected to the Assembly in 1977, 1982 and 2012, to the Rajya Sabha in 1992 and to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1998 and 1999.

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 22

Scions of the erstwhile royal families often take to politics. Himachal is no different with many of them throwing their hats in the ring to try their luck in electoral politics.

Even as the tussle for getting the party ticket is on within both Congress and BJP, the younger generations from these erstwhile royal families are too eager to make their political debut. Prominent among them are Vikramaditya Singh, son of Chief Minister, from Shimla (Rural) and Aditya Vikram Singh (Banjar in Kullu), son of former Ayurveda Minister Karan Singh, who died earlier this year.

Leading the blue blood brigade is Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the six-time Chief Minister who has again been projected as the party’s leader if the Congress returns to power. Being the scion of the erstwhile Bushair state, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 from the Mahasu seat. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times in 1967, 1971, 1980 and 2009. His wife Pratibha Singh has remained MP from Mandi.

Another royal, who has been a successful politician, is Asha Kumari, Dalhousie MLA. Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, she was married in the Chamba royal family and has won the Assembly elections in 1985, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2012. She is also the AICC secretary and in-charge of the Congress affairs in Punjab.

As far as the BJP is concerned, the scion of the Kullu royal family Maheshwar Singh, former BJP president and Lok Sabha MP, who is now the MLA from Kullu, is again contesting on the BJP ticket. Having drifted away from the BJP before the 2012 Assembly elections and floating his own political outfit Himachal Lokhit Party, he is now back in the saffron party. He was elected to the Assembly in 1977, 1982 and 2012, to the Rajya Sabha in 1992 and to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1998 and 1999.

Maheshwar’s younger Karan Singh, who was the Congress MLA from Banjar, passed away earlier this year. His younger son Aditya Vikram Singh (31) has staked claim for the Congress ticket from his father’s constituency.

Anirudh Singh, sitting Congress MLA from Kasumpti, is from the Kiar Koti royal family and is again seeking Congress ticket. However, this time he has another royal Jyoti Sen from the Junga royal family as his opponent. She is the CM’s wife Pratibha Singh’s sister-in-law and had contested the last elections as an independent.

There have been several leaders from the erstwhile royal families who won Assembly poll, including Chandresh Kumari (Kangra) from Dharamsala, Yogendra Chandra from the Jubbal royal family from Chopal in 1985, 1993 and 1998, Vijyendra Singh from Nalagarh royal family in 1977, 1982, 1985, 1990 and 1993 and Padma from Chamba royal family from Bhattiyat in 1972.