In the land of palaces, it’s hard not to run into former royals during elections. Although a shadow of their once powerful selves, at least six candidates from prominent families are contesting these upcoming Assembly elections.

Five are from the BJP and one from the Congress. The outgoing Rajasthan Assembly had four of them, three from the BJP and one from the Congress.

The scions of the erstwhile princely states have traditionally been with the BJP and its ideological forerunners Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad (ABRRP), Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party.

Vasundhara Raje, related to the royal families of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Dholpur in Rajasthan, was the most important leader of the Rajasthan BJP for about two decades until she lost power in 2018. She is contesting from Jhalrapatan for a fifth term.

Diya Kumari, MP for Rajsamand and a Jaipur royal, is contesting from Vidhyadhar Nagar in the state capital. Kumari has had a frosty relationship with former mentor Raje, and is reportedly being promoted within the party to fill the vacuum left by Raje.

Siddhi Kumari of the Bikaner royal family is contesting from Bikaner East for a fourth term. The daughter of Olympian and five-time Independent MP Karni Singh, Kumari’s wealth multiplied almost 22-fold to more than Rs 102 crore since the last polls after she inherited her grandmother’s assets — subject to an ongoing dispute with her sister Rajyashree Kumari.

The BJP has fielded Vishvaraj Singh Mewar of the Udaipur royal family in Nathdwara against outgoing Speaker C.P. Joshi of the Congress. His father Mahendra Singh Mewar was a BJP MP who later joined the Congress.

Ladpura’s BJP MLA, Kalpana Devi, matriarch of the Kotah royal house, is contesting again. Her husband Ijyaraj Singh was a Congress MP who later joined the BJP.

The Congress’s royal candidate is outgoing tourism minister Vishvendra Singh of the Bharatpur house. He is contesting for a third term from Deeg-Kumher. His father Brijendra Singh was an Independent MP. Former foreign minister Natwar Singh is also from the Bharatpur nobility.

Vishvendra was earlier with the BJP. His uncle Man Singh, an Independent MLA, was murdered by policemen in 1985 after he drove his jeep into then chief minister Shiv Charan Mathur’s helicopter. Mathur later resigned.

Several cops were convicted in connection with this in 2020. Man Singh’s daughter Krishnadeep Kaur was a minister in the previous Raje government.

Besides Raje, a Maratha who married a Jat, and Vishvendra Singh — who is from a Jat royal clan — the rest of the royal candidates in these polls are Rajputs.

Veteran journalist Sunny Sebastian said: “They have the Rajput network and feudal ties. Although it isn’t like the past any more, Kshatriyas wield clout and those who have been associated with royalty have an affinity for them.”

The trailblazer for royals entering politics was former Jodhpur ruler Hanwant Singh, who won in a landslide as an Independent from Jodhpur in the 1952 parliamentary polls. He died in an air crash before the results came in. The ABRRP is believed to be a brainchild of Hanwant.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his son Gaj Singh last month was publicised as an attempt by the BJP to consolidate Rajput support in Jodhpur, where Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot is contesting from. Hanwant’s daughter Chandresh Kumari Katoch was a Congress minister at the Centre.

“This respect for royalty or the feudals dilutes democracy in Rajasthan. If one is selected because one is an aristocrat, then what is the point of democracy?” Sebastian said.

Royal participation in politics received a boost with Gayatri Devi of the Jaipur royal family getting elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 from the Swatantra Party. The alliance of the Swatantra Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh led to a hung Assembly, and President’s rule was imposed in 1967.

Protests against this faced police firing in Jaipur. The Congress formed the government after defections from the Swatantra Party.

“The royals have mostly been with non-Congress parties…. None of them were part of the freedom movement,” Sebastian said.

“They opposed the movement and the Congress, either out of fear or in adherence to their treaties with the British.”

Despite casting their lot with the Hindutva Right, the royals have maintained a cosmopolitan lifestyle and this has not affected their clout. Raje and Diya Kumari have continued to prosper politically despite publicised marital disputes.

“The public may have a sense of strict morality but they allow their rulers to have a free life. Politicians here generally do not attack each other about their personal lives,” Sebastian said.