New Delhi: It would unfair to say that dynasts only exist in the Congress. Political dynasties are common across all major parties. Unlike many other countries, dynastic politics in India is here to stay. A strong political dynasty can help relatives, siblings, cousins and in-laws win elections as with any successful business operation. The selection of dynastic politicians with lower education levels relative to their non‐dynastic peers often raise eyebrows but it becomes a non-issue once the campaigning begins. It can’t be denied that there are eminence grise behind the government ministers who call the shots. The BJP’s 2014 campaign was largely based on getting India rid of dynastic politics but many of its allies are also satraps of significant states. The narrative was different in 2019 where nationalism, Hindutva and national security took centre-stage.


However, we look at the scions of famous politicians who succeeded or failed miserably in the 17th Lok Sabha elections.

Maneka Gandhi (BJP): Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, wife of late Sanjay Gandhi (brother of Rajiv Gandhi), won from the Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat defeating her nearest rival BSP candidate Chandra Bhadra Singh Sonu by over 14,000 votes.

Varun Gandhi (BJP): BJP leader Varun Gandhi, son of Maneka Gandhi won the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat defeating Hemraj Verma of the SP by a margin of over 2.50 lakh votes.

Rahul Gandhi (Congress): Congress president Rahul Gandhi was Thursday declared elected from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala but conceded defeat in Amethi, a traditional bastion of his family, to BJP's Smriti Irani.

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Dushyant Singh (BJP): Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh on Thursday emerged victorious from the Jhalawar-Baran Lok Sabha seat. Singh defeated his Congress rival Pramod Sharma by a margin of 4, 52,928 votes.

Farooq Abdullah (JKNC): Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah won the election to the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency by trouncing his nearest rival by over 70,000 votes, entering the lower house of Parliament for the fourth time.

Akhilesh Yadav (SP):  Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, son of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, won from the Azamgarh seat, defeating Bhojpuri star and BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua by over 2.59 lakh votes.

Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP): Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has won the Mainpuri seat by defeating his BJP candidate Prem Singh Shakya with a margin of over 94,000 votes.

Chirag Paswan (LJP):  Lokjanshakti Party founder Ramvilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan won from Jamui Lok Sabha seat in Bihar defeating Bhudeb Choudhary of RLSP by 2,41,049 votes.

Misa Bharti (RJD): Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti failed to win Pataliputra in her second consecutive attempt as she lost to BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav - a former aide of her father and now a Union minister - by about 40,000 votes.

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Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD): Union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal (wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal) won from the Bathinda seat, defeating her nearest rival Amrinder Singh Raja Warring of the Congress.

Kanimozhi (DMK): DMK leader Kanimozhi, daughter of the late party patriarch M Karunanidhi won the Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency by defeating her BJP rival by more than three lakh votes.

Dayanidhi Maran (DMK): Dayanidhi Maran, grandnephew of late DMK president M Karunanidhi, won against PMK’s Sam Paul in Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency by a huge margin.

Nara Lokesh (TDP): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party President N. Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh was defeated in Assembly election. Lokesh, whom Naidu was grooming as his political successor, lost by 5,200 votes to YSR Congress Party's A. Rama Krishna Reddy in Mangalagiri constituency in state capital region Amaravati.

Prajwal Revanna (JDS): BJP candidate from Hassan, A Manju failed to taste success and lost by over 1.41 lakh votes from winner Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former prime minister H D Devegowda.

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Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress): Senior Congress leader and sitting MP Jyotiraditya Scindia Thursday lost to BJP candidate K P Yadav in his traditional Guna seat in Madhya Pradesh by a margin of 1,25,549 votes.

Milind Deora (Congress): Son of late Congress leader Murli Deora lost his seat to Shiv Sena’s Arvind Ganpat Sawant.

Vaibhav Gehlot (Congress): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot lost Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency to  Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of BJP

Mehbooba Mufti (PDP): PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti lost the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat to National Conference's Justice (retd) Hasnain Masoodi by nearly 10,000 votes.

Ajit Singh (RLD): Ajit Singh, the son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, lost from Muzaffarnagar by almost 6,000 votes to BJP’s Sanjeev BaliyanJayant Chaudhary (RLD) from Baghpat

Jayant Chaudhary (RLD): RLD chief Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Chaudhary could not win from his father’s traditional seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat to BJP’s Satyapal Singh. Ajit had vacated his seat for Jayant from where he was elected six times to the Parliament.

Parth Pawar (NCP): NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Parth Pawar lost in Maharashtra’s Maval by 2.16 lakh votes to Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne.

Deepender Singh Hooda (Congress): Congress' Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda (son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda) lost to BJP’s Arvind Sharma.

Shivpal Yadav (PSPL): In UP's Firozabad, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSPL) candidate Shivpal Singh Yadav lost to his nephew Akshay Yadav who in turn BJP's Chandra Sen Jadon by 28,781 votes.

Anjali Soren (JMM): Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Anjali Soren, daughter of Shibu Soren, could manage to get only 69,000 votes and finished at a distant third.

(With facts and figures from PTI)