Twelve persons from the erstwhile royal families of Odisha are contesting elections as, for them, taking part in the polls is carrying forward their families’ legacy.
The titular Maharaja of Patnagarh, a BJP candidate from the local Assembly seat in Balangir district, K.V. Singh Deo said: “I have never been considered a member of a royal family while serving the people. It’s an honour.” His wife, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, the sitting MP from Balangir, is the BJP candidate again for this Lok Sabha seat. “People have showered their love and affection on me,” said Sangeeta.
Another one from the erstwhile Balangir royal family is Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, who is contesting from the Balangir Sadar Assembly seat on a BJD ticket.
The BJP roped in erstwhile Kalahandi queen Malavika Devi, wife of former MP Arka Keshari Deo, as its MP candidate from Kalahandi. Malavika and her husband Arka Keshari, who were earlier in the BJD, joined the BJP in 2023.
Arundhati Devi, the erstwhile Bamanda queen and wife of BJP’s Sambalpur MP Nitesh Ganga Deb, is now the BJD’s candidate from Deogarh Assembly seat. “I feel always connected to the people,” she said.
The erstwhile royal family member from Nayagarh, Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, a former BJD MP, is contesting from the Nayagarh Assembly seat on a BJP ticket.
Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, a member of the erstwhile Dharakote royal family, contesting from Sanakhemundi in Ganjam on a BJD ticket, said: “We are as common as others.”
Ganjam district’s Chikiti estate’s member, Chinmayananda Srirup Deb, son of minister Usah Devi, is contesting on a BJD ticket after Usha Devi declined to contest.
The other erstwhile royal family members who are in the poll fray on BJD tickets are former minister Puspendra Singh Deo from Dharamgarh seat in Kalahandi, minister Pratap Deb from the erstwhile Aul royal family in Kendrapara and Sanjukta Singh, wife of Rajanikant Singh, a scion of the erstwhile Angul royal family, from the Angul seat.
The Congress has fielded Susmita Singh Deo, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Dhenkanal, from the local Assembly seat. Susmita, a relative of former Union minister K.P. Singh Deo, said: “People need a parivartan (change). I am in the Congress to raise the voice of the common people.”