A day after quitting the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday in the presence of its president JP Nadda at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday.
His unexpected move has generated a tremendous amount of curiosity in the Scindias - the erstwhile Gwalior royal family - his late grandmother and one of the founding members of the BJP Vijaya Raje Scindia, his late father and Congress minister Madhavrao Scindia, his son Mahanaryaman Scindia and also his wife Priyadarshini Raje Scindia.
While it is a well-known fact that Priyadarshini Raje Scindia is from the Gaekwad family, the former rulers of Baroda State, here is all you need to know about her:
Born in 1975, Priyadarshini Raje Scindia's father Sangramsinh Gaekwad, was the son of Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad, the last ruler of Baroda State, who ruled until 1951 when the state became a part of the Republic of India. Her mother Asharaje Gaekwad is from the Rana dynasty of Nepal.
Priyadarshini Raje studied at Convent of Jesus & Mary School, also known as Fort Convent in Mumbai. Later, she went to Sophia College for Women in Mumbai.
Priyadarshini Raje married Jyotiraditya Scindia in December 1994. It was an arranged marriage. However, Jyotiraditya in an interview said that he first met Priyadarshini Raje in December 1991 at a social gathering in Delhi. At the time, Jyotiraditya was in the United States, while Priyadarshini Raje was based in Mumbai. "I knew from day one that Priyadarshini was the one for me," Jyotiraditya said. The couple has a son and a daughter.
In 2008, Priyadarshini Raje Scindia was included in Verve's "Best dressed - 2008" list and later in 2012, she made it to Femina's list of India's 50 Most Beautiful Women.
Priyadarshini who once said, "living in a palace is a full time job" has been involved in the restoration works of Jai Vilas Mahal and Usha Kiran Palace, both in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Jyotiraditya's wife, Priyadarshini, also helped him during his election campaigns. In the lead up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she reached out to a cross-section of voters, listening to their woes and telling them about the work done by her husband.
In 2019, BJP fielded Krishna Pal Singh Yadav as their candidate from Guna, considered the pocket borough of the Scindias. However, Priyadarshini ridiculed him by sharing a photo of the BJP leader with Jyotiraditya on social media and saying that a man who once stood waiting in queues for clicking a selfie with the Maharaj, is now the BJP’s nominee. Krishna Pal, a doctor by profession and a close aide to Jyotiraditya, had left the party after the leadership has failed to recognise his hard work in the region.
After the results were announced, Jyotiraditya Scindia faced a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, loosing by a margin of 1,25,549 votes to Krishna Pal Singh Yadav.
