The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Mysuru): Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, has achieved a significant victory in his first electoral foray. On Tuesday, the 32-year-old US-educated Wadiyar won the Mysore Lok Sabha seat, defeating Congress’s M Lakshman by a margin of 1,39,262 votes.
Wadiyar’s win is considered a major setback for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as Mysuru is his home district. Siddaramaiah had heavily invested time and effort in strategizing and campaigning in the region. The BJP’s decision to field Wadiyar, a political novice, replacing sitting MP Prathap Simha, was viewed as a strategic move, leveraging the longstanding goodwill of the Wadiyar family in Mysuru due to their historical contributions to the region.
Crowned as the 27th “King” of the Wadiyar dynasty on May 28, 2015, Yaduveer was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, the widow of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. After his adoption, Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs was renamed Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
Wadiyar, who has a BA in Economics and English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, enjoys playing the guitar and Saraswati Veena. He is the grandson of Princess Gayatri Devi, the eldest daughter of the last Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. He also has a keen interest in history, tennis, and horse racing.
Married to Trishika Kumari Wadiyar, who belongs to the Dungarpur Royal Family in Rajasthan, Yaduveer has political connections through his father-in-law Harshavardhan Singh, a former BJP Rajya Sabha MP.
The Mysuru royal family has a historical association with politics. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the previous scion, represented the Mysuru Parliamentary constituency four times and had a brief stint with the BJP. Srikantadatta’s father, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last Maharaja of Mysuru, served as Rajpramukh/Governor after India’s independence.