Yaduveer marks royal family’s political resurgence in Mysuru

Mysore/Mysuru: The victory of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar as the BJP’s candidate for Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha Constituency marks the resurgence of the erstwhile royal family of Mysore in the  political arena after a hiatus of two decades.

Notably, the voters have embraced Yaduveer, who has followed his father’s footsteps, as their representative in the Parliament.

Following the electoral defeat of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, a four-time MP, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Mysore Constituency, the presence of the royal family gradually waned in the political landscape. Srikantadatta  Wadiyar had represented the Constituency in 1984, 1989, 1996, and 1999. He also experienced electoral losses in different years.

Srikantadatta Wadiyar made his political debut as a Congress candidate in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, held in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination and emerged victorious. He retained his seat in LS as a Congress candidate in 1989 polls. However, he switched allegiance to BJP for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, only to lose to Congress candidate Chandraprabha Urs.

Srikantadatta Wadiyar then returned to the Congress fold and successfully contested the 1996 and 1999 elections.

After his electoral setback in 2004 elections, where he finished third behind BJP’s C.H. Vijayshankar and JD(S) candidate A.S. Guruswamy, the royal family distanced itself from politics.

Following Srikantadatta Wadiyar’s demise in 2013, his wife, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, declined invitations from various political parties and instead focused on legal battles concerning royal properties and assets.

Yaduveer is the grandson of Gayathri Devi, the eldest daughter of the last Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wadiyar and sister of Srikantadatta Wadiyar. Pramoda Devi adopted Yaduveer as the royal heir in 2015. Son of Tripura Sundari Devi and Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs, Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs was formally rechristened as Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar. With the election of Yaduveer, who chose to continue his father’s legacy, power has returned to the corridor of the hallowed Mysore Palace after a gap of 20 years.