People have gathered here so that they can speak to their ‘wannabe’ MLA from Bikaner East Assembly constituency
BIKANER: The durbar is set on the lawns of Lalgarh Palace in Bikaner. People have gathered here so that they can speak to their ‘wannabe’ MLA from Bikaner East Assembly constituency, princess Siddhi Kumari.
But the attendants at the durbar tell people to wait because her royal highness is sipping her evening tea.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate finally appears after a long wait, but finds it difficult to identify herself with the voters from her constituency. Sitting in a chair placed opposite her ‘oval office’, a semi-circle seating arrangement reminiscent of the famous one in White House, the princess is unable to initiate a conversation. Partly out of the discomfort and partially because of the strangers around her, the coy, demure, princess starts staring at the ground.
The people seated opposite her are also too awestruck to make a start. Once again, the princess’s attendants become the link. “Hukum, aap kuch farma rahe the,” an attendant says, exhorting people to speak up. And, finally, the dialogue begins.
“There was no particular reason why my family kept away from public life for so many years; it was just destiny,” the princess tells DNA on being asked why the family took a sabbatical from politics after her late grandfather, Bikaner maharaja Karni Singh, was elected to the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms (1952 to 1977).
Left to herself, the princess would have continued to pursue her main interest — painting. But, the princess says, she was greatly inspired by her grandfather and wanted to add to his legacy. “Chief minister Vasundhara Raje is my idol. She has already done much for the city. I just have to take her good works a step further.”
The former maharaja’s public service is still embedded in the residents’ memory. And because of Karni Singh, the royal family still commands a large following in Bikaner. The princess’s political rivals are already perturbed because of this. “People have to decide if they want a representative like me who is easily approachable or someone like the princess who is out of the country for most of the time,” says Vishwajeet Singh Harasar, the independent candidate from the constituency.
Interesting, Harasar admits his loyalty to the royal family. “I am a loyal supporter of the family as my grandfather was treated like a son by the princess’s great great grandfather,” he confides, adding that he is still contesting the election against a member of that family because the princess herself once promised him the BJP ticket from the seat.
“She has fallen back on her words and kept the ticket to herself,” he alleges.
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