12 royal family members from Odisha contest in Lok Sabha, assembly elections

NEW DELHI: Twelve members of various royal families in Odisha are vying for votes from the common people in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The state will witness simultaneous polls for its 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly segments from May 13 to June 1. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has given tickets to eight royal family members, while the BJP and Congress have fielded three and one, respectively.Among the royal candidates, ten are contesting for the Odisha Assembly, and two are in the race for Lok Sabha.
The BJD has nominated 28-year-old Sulakshana Geetanjali Devi, the granddaughter of the late veteran leader A N Singhdeo of Dharakote, for the Sanakhemundi assembly constituency. Geetanjali, a law graduate, is the fifth member of the Dharakote royal family to contest an assembly election. She will face Congress's sitting MLA Ramesh Chandra Jena in the May 20 election.
The BJD has also fielded Chinmayananda Srirup Deb, son of Urban Development Minister Usha Devi, who belongs to the Chikiti royal family, to contest from the Chikiti Assembly segment. Deb, who worked in a multinational IT company for over two decades before starting his own business, aims to make Chikiti a model constituency.
The BJP has re-nominated MP Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo from the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat, while her husband, senior BJP leader KV Singh Deo, will contest from the Patnagarh assembly segment. The party has also fielded Malavika Keshari Deo, wife of former MP Arka Keshari Deo, in the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat.
The BJD has nominated several other royal family members, including Bamanda 'Rani' Arundhati Devi, Pushpendra Singh Deo, Sanjukta Singh, Pratyusha Rajeswari, and Pratap Deb, for various Assembly seats. The Congress has fielded Susmita Singh Deo, a member of the Dhenkanal royal family, for the Dhenkanal Assembly seat.
According to political analyst Prahallad Sinha, the royal families of Bolangir and Kalahandi have historically wielded significant political influence in Odisha, with members serving as chief ministers and driving forces behind regional political parties.
(With agency inputs)