Gujarat’s former royals: From political ascent to quiet departure

Ahmedabad: During his two-day election campaign in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the patriarch of the erstwhile royal family of Nawanagar state, Jam Saheb Shtrushalyasinhji Jadeja. The meeting was construed as a gesture by Modi to placate the protesting Kshatriyas over BJP candidate Parshottam Rupala’s objectionable remarks about the community.
After over a month of protests, the BJP has managed to garner support of 49 erstwhile royals, who have appealed to the community to end the agitation.How effective their appeal will be is yet to be seen as they are no longer active in electoral politics.

The only member of any erstwhile royal family from Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha is BJP’s Kesridevsinh Jhala from Wankaner.
However, there was a time when as many as five members of royal families were simultaneously sent to the Lok Sabha in two consecutive elections in the 1980s.
Gujarat had roughly over 300 princely states and small principalities that merged with the Union of India, a considerably high number compared to the total 562 princely states across the country. After independence, elections were the only way for the dethroned royals to remain active in politics. They remained in the fray in elections from the beginning. The first general election saw two royal contestants — Idar’s Maharaj Himmatsinhji from Sabarkantha and Nawanagar’s Major General Himatsinhji who was nephew of cricketing legend Ranjitsinh and brother of another great, Duleepsinh. While Idar’s scion lost, the latter went to Parliament uncontested.
Interestingly, the erstwhile royals’ participation in electoral politics largely corresponds to their position in the hierarchy of importance. The Baroda state, which was accorded the highest honour of 21-gun salute during British rule, saw the highest number of royal contenders. One or the other members of the Gaekwads of Baroda have contested 10 parliamentary elections so far. The first scion of the royal family, Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad, represented the constituency in 1957, 1962, 1971, and 1977. His younger brother Ranjitsinh Gaekwad successfully contested in 1980 and 1984. He lost in 1989 to BJP’s Dipika Chikhalia.
His wife Shubhanginiraje lost the election in 1996 when Satyajitsinh Gaekwad of the Indian National Congress (INC) won by a wafer-thin margin of 17 votes against a BJP candidate. Shubhanginiraje contested again in 2001 from the Kheda constituency but lost.
Another member of the Vadodara royal family, Devyanidevi Ashokraje Gaekwad, unsuccessfully contested the general election in 1998 on the All India Rashtriya Janata Party (AIRJP) ticket. Satyajitsinh continued to contest elections until 2009 as an INC candidate but was not successful.
Similarly, the family from Kutch, with a 17-gun salute status, also tried its hand twice. Himatsinhji Vijarajji was elected as a Swatantra Party candidate in 1962 after the formation of Gujarat state. However, Yuvraj Prithvirajsinhji did not succeed in the 1971 general election as an INC (O) candidate. Coming from the royal family of Nawanagar state with a status of 15-gun salute, D P Jadeja began his electoral journey in 1971 as an INC candidate from the Jamnagar seat. He won thrice and lost in 1977 and 1989.
Dhrangadhra’s Sriraj Meghraj contested two parliamentary elections from Surendranagar and won in 1967 as a Swatantra Party candidate. Erstwhile royals from two other states with 11- and 9-gun salutes — Wankaner and Bria — tasted electoral wins.
Wankaner’s Digvijaysinhji Jhala got elected from the Surendranagar seat in 1980 and 1984 but lost in 1989. Devgadh Baria’s Maharao Jaipalsinhji represented the Godhra constituency twice in the 1980s. Most of these royal contenders were from different factions of the INC at different times. Some also contested as Swatantra Party candidates. Lately, it was on AIRJP’s mandate that Sabarkantha’s Maharaja Madhusudansinh Parmar and Vadodara’s Devyanidevi contested, but were unsuccessful.
Besides the major states, patriarchs of small principalities have also participated in the polls and gone to Parliament. Mogar’s Thakor Saheb Natvarsinh Solanki represented Kapadvanj twice; Fatehsinhji Dabi from Ghodasar represented Kaira in 1957 and was earlier a representative of non-salute states of Gujarat in the constituent assembly as well. Mansinhji Bhasaheb, a Thakor from a small principality of Kerwada, represented Bharuch in the fifth Lok Sabha. The highest number of royals sent from Gujarat was when Congress’ Madhavsinh Solanki implemented his Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim (KHAM) policy to reap rich electoral dividends for his party in the assembly election. Five members of the erstwhile royal families — D P Jadeja from Jamnagar, Digvijaysinh Jhala from Surendranagar, Rajnitsinh Gaekwad from Vadodara, Natvarsinh Solanki from Kapadvanj, and Maharao Rajdipsinh from Godhra — won elections for INC in 1980 and 1984.
The representation of the erstwhile royals in electoral politics started changing in 1989. Members of four families fought elections and all of them lost. With this, the royal challenge in LS polls began appearing to be ineffective.