Working ten hours at a go, Shubhrashree who is contesting on a Samajwadi ticket from Bhinga, covers fifteen to twenty villages every day. “I was always an early riser, now it is coming handy,” says Shubhrashree who practises yoga regularly. Fond of long drives and quiet holidays in the jungle, these days she lets her driver drive her to remote villages. “Once the election is over here, I will do what I like the most. I will take my mother-in-law in my Ford and drive down to Lucknow.”

Rajkumari Devina Singh, princess of Rehua estate in Bahraich , is another first timer who is contesting the Fakharpur seat. “My grandmother was an MP and grandfather was an MLA. Politics is in my blood.”

A Delhi University graduate, Devina became an active member of the Congress in 2002. Assisted by her siblings in her election campaign, the road to politics, says Devina, is not tough since the people of her estate understands her.

But it’s not a smooth ride all the way. For many, language remains a barrier. Says Rajkunwar Ratnakar Singh, an alumnus of Ajmer’s Mayo College and son-in-law of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh: “Initially speaking in fluent Hindi was a problem.”

Doon School alumnus Vigyat Singh who is contesting the Rampur Khas (Pratapgarh) seat, is also trying to make the transition from Delhi’s high life to the rough and tumble of state politics. The SP has fielded him against veteran Congress leader Promod Tiwari. A descendant of Kalakankar estate in Pratpgarh, Vigyat is not too familiar with his constituency or with politics.
But like the other former royals, he’s not letting that come in the way of political ambition.