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.

Despite being the seat of the kingdom, Gwalior has not really been charitable to the Scindias in the last few elections. Madhavrao had shifted to the safer seat of Guna in 1999 because the year before his margin was down to 26,279.

The voters insist that they don’t vote only for the surname and cite development works in the constituency. They judge the Scindias by a simple yardstick, “They will never indulge in corruption because they have so much money.”

Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, the political fountainhead of the family won her first election way back in 1957. Since then Scindias have won from Guna and Gwalior, no matter whether they fought as Independents, floated regional parties, or chose either the BJP or Congress.

The only exception was when Vasundhara Raje lost in Bhind as BJP candidate in 1984. The Congress had won more than 400 seats in that election held after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the same election, Madhavrao had defeated Atal Behari Vajpayee in Gwalior by a margin of more than 1.75 lakh votes. The Rajmata’s only defeat had come in an election she contested in Rae Bareli against Indira Gandhi.