Union minister and Congress candidate Jyotiradiya Scindia has retained the Guna seat while his aunt Yashodhara Raje won from Gwalior on a BJP ticket, hinting at a tradition that began more than five decades ago. For long after the Gwalior kingdom merged with the Indian Union, the former subjects and their progeny continue to be loyal to members of the erstwhile ruling family, voting for them irrespective of the parties they represent.

The Scindias contest either from Guna or Gwalior but two family members never contest against each other.

In the past, they could fancy winning even without moving out of the palace, but today they have to work hard as everybody else. The ‘Mahal factor’ — as Madhya Pradesh describes the voter’s affinity — and the surname give them an edge, which the rivals find daunting, given that many still refer to the family members as maharaja or maharani, touch their feet and bow in deference.

Young Jyotiraditya, who a few months ago spent a night at a Dalit’s home in his constituency, won by a huge margin of close to 2.5 lakh votes while Yashodhara Raje’s margin at 26,591 was lesser the 36,474 margin in the 2007 by-election. Raje was first elected to the MP Assembly in 1998 when she won from Shivpuri, the summer residence of the Scindias, before the BJP fielded her in a by-election in Gwalior in 2007.

In the first election Jyotiraditya contested in 2002 after the tragic death of his father Madhavrao, his margin was a massive 4.5 lakh. It came down to 86,360 in 2004 but he managed to increase it substantially five years later though six of the eight Assembly segments in Guna are represented by the BJP.

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