In Rajasthan's Vidyadhar Nagar, BJP banking on royal charm, Congress work

Animesh Singh

Jaipur, November 22

The legendary Rajmata Gayatri Devi, the erstwhile queen of Jaipur, won the 1962 Lok Sabha elections from the city by a record margin of 1.75 lakh votes.

Now six decades later, erstwhile princess of Jaipur Diya Kumari is in the fray from Vidyadhar Nagar, hoping to win by a record margin.

Kumari, who won the Rajsamand Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 General Election, has been fielded by the BJP from Vidyadhar Nagar, which along with other constituencies goes to the polls on November 25.

Vidyadhar Nagar has been a traditional BJP seat, as between 2008 and 2018, it had returned veteran party leader Narpat Singh Rajvi, son-in-law of former vice-president of the country Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, as an MLA.

This time however, the party did not give the 72-year-old leader the ticket and instead placed its bet on a royal and a much younger 51-year old Diya Kumari. With Rajputs and Brahmins apart from the Vaishya community being the dominant communities in Vidyadhar Nagar, the party is banking on the charisma of the princess in a place like Rajasthan, where royals have more or less won elections on the basis of people’s devotion and loyalty towards them.

The Congress party has again fielded Sitaram Agarwal, who in 2018, lost to Rajvi from here. However, local residents say despite his loss, Agarwal has been active in the area, and is known for his accessibility. Agarwal lost in 2018 owing to the entry of a Congress rebel candidate Vikram Singh Shekhawat, who had turned it into a triangular contest. Diya Kumari though is banking on her clean image and the royal lineage.