Berhampur: Even as the days of kingship are over, the members of four royal families in Ganjam have made their mark in modern day politics and continue to call the shots in the district, a report said.
Nine members of four royal families in the district have plunged into politics and won MLA seats 29 times, the report said.
Ramchandra Mardaraj Deo, the former royal of Khallikote, first won the Khallikote Assembly seat in 1951-52 as an Independent candidate and later on a Congress ticket from the same constituency in 1961.
Later, his daughter-in-law, V Sugnana Kumari Deo, won a by-election from the constituency as a Congress candidate in 1962.
Sugnana again won the Khallikote seat as a candidate of Utkal Congress in 1974, Janata Party in 1977 and 1985, and from Janata Dal in 1990 and 1995. Later, she joined the then newly formed Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and won the elections from this seat in 2000 and 2005.
Meanwhile, the Assembly segments were reorganised and the Khallikote constituency was reserved for SC candidates. The ruling BJD shifted Sugnana from Khallikote to Kabisuryanagar from where she won 2009 and 2014 elections as a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
While father-in-law Ramachandra was elected twice to the State Assembly, Sugnana has been elected as a MLA for 10 times. Despite being elected for a record number of times, she has not become a minister as she does not clamour for power.
Similarly, the hold of the Dharakote royal family is no less than the Khallikote royals. Ananta Narayan Singhdeo of Dharakote royal family had won the Sorada Assembly constituency as a Swatantra Party candidate in 1967 and 1971.
Later, he won the elections from the same seat in 1977 on Janata Party and in 1995 on a BJP ticket. He twice became a minister in the Rajendra Narayan Singhdeo led government and Biswanath Das government.
Shanti Devi from the same royal family had won the elections in 1990 as a candidate of the erstwhile Janata Dal and her son Kishore Chandra Singhdeo in 2004 as a BJP candidate.
Kishore’s wife Nandini Devi contested the 2014 elections from Sanakhemundi Assembly segment and won as a BJD candidate. On the other hand, Podamari (Sanakhemundi) royal Udaya Narayan Dev was thrice elected to the State Assembly in 1974, 1977 and 1980.
The Chikiti royal Sachhidananda Deo and his daughter-in-law Usha Devi have been elected for seven times to the State Assembly. Sachhidananda Deo had won the elections in 1971 and 1974 as a Congress candidate while his daughter-in-law Usha Devi won the 1990 poll as a Janata Dal candidate and has been winning as a BJD candidate since 2000. Usha Devi has become a member of the Assembly for five times and a cabinet minister twice.
PNN