BJP may have given Diya Kumari the ‘safest' seat but incumbent Narpat Singh Rajvi doesn't seem to be in a mood to let it be a cakewalk for the erstwhile princess of Jaipur royal family.
Rajvi, son in law of former vice president and BJP stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, has been representing Vidyadhar nagar assembly segment since its creation in 2008.
He openly ridiculed the decision of central leadership of fielding Diya Kumari from his constituency.
In an interview with a Hindi daily, he went deep into the history of Jaipur royal family and questioned the party, “Don't know why party is so generous to the family which had bowed before the Mughals and fought against Maharana Pratap?”
Rajvi said that he will decide future course of action after having discussion with top leadership.
“Rajvi may have referred to the family lineage because he had been beneficiary of that. Just being from family of Bhairon Singhji, he is into politics and MLA from BJP without being active. So he is referring family history of erstwhile Jaipur royal family,” said Bhawani Singh, a supporter of Diya Kumari.
Diya Kumari's grandmother Gayatri Devi had been member of parliament from Swatantra Party founded by India's last Governor General C Rajagopalachari. Similarly, her father Brigadier Bhawani Singh had also contested Lok Sabha elections on Congress party.
“Talking about history, Rajvi's father in law Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had joined hands with Diya Kumari's grandmother Gayatri Devi to contest elections of 1967. Shekhawat was with Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Gayatri Devi was with Swatantra party. Jana Sangh won 22 seats while Swatantra Party had won 48 seats in that elections in 184-seat assembly,” said Bhawani Singh.
Diya Kumari said that she had sought blessings and support from Narpat Singh Rajvi.
“I respect the family and have sought blessings from him. I have no role in getting the ticket. Whatever responsibility party gives to me, I try to fulifill it,” she said.
She said that she contested elections from Sawai Madhopur and then Rajsamand and faces no opposition. She hopes to get support from all quarters.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
