The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : The scion of Dholpur reaches out to the people

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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

The scion of Dholpur reaches out to the people

Gargi Parsai

Jhalawar

What is striking about Dushayant Singh, a scion of the Dholpur royal family in Rajasthan, is that he has no airs. Linked to the Scindia royal family on his mother's side and the Dholpur royals on his father's, he comes across as a simple, straightforward person who wants to belong to the people. "I want the people's love and I see them as a part of my family," he said during a stopover at Mogra village in Jhalawar Parliamentary constituency recently. His promise to the people of Jhalawar if elected is: "Har khet mei paani aur har haath ko kaam (Water to every field and work to every hand)."

Dushayant Singh, 31, is contesting his first election on the BJP ticket from Jhalawar in south Rajasthan, the constituency represented by his mother Vasundhara Raje in the Lok Sabha till she became Chief Minister. But Dushayant insists he has not been "imposed." "Thopa to Amethi me jaa raha hai (Imposition is being done in Amethi). The Congress does it, not us. The Congress president's son goes to Amethi and gets fever. I have always worked in villages and live in Dholpur where the temperatures reach 48 to 50 degrees centigrade. I have a farm and do the farming myself. In our party, names come through mandals. It is not the decision of a single individual. My name also came from mandal."

Dushayant says his mother did not want him to contest. "My mom had refused 3-4 times. I have a small family, a small kid and my mother wanted me to be with the family but the central BJP leadership and the people of Jhalawar brought a lot of pressure for my candidature." And, why not? They see the "mother and son duo" as a "golden opportunity" for Jhalawar's development. Water is the biggest issue here. But it neighbours Dholpur and that suits Dushayant because that is where he lives and will continue to do so. In fact, he plans to be at Dholpur, Delhi, Jaipur and Jhalawar, "because Dholpur is where I live, Delhi will give money for various works, Jaipur will clear it and Jhalawar is where it'll be implemented."

A mirror image of his mother, the heir to the Dholpur `throne', is an MBA in Hotel Administration from the U.S. He studied in Modern School, Doon School and St. Stephen's. He was abroad for over three years and later worked with J. Thomas Tea Company in Kolkata. He married the daughter of the Raja of Santhar in Uttar Pradesh, who is a gujjar, about four years ago and has a daughter. To counter his main opponent Sanjay Gujjar's (Congress) casteist campaign, Dushayant reminds the people that he is married into a Gujjar family.

Aware of the advantage he would have with his mother as a former MP from Jhalawar and the present Chief Minister, Dushayant says he plans to tackle the water problem by constructing check dams, anicuts, water-harvesting plants.

0He also proposes to introduce new and different methods of farming for herbal and aromatic crops and bio-crops. He knows that the exotic horticulture variety would not grow in the rough and dry terrain of Jhalawar. In his own farm he has cultivated `safeed mousli', mustrad, wheat, moong dal, bajra, vegetables and some khas.

With most people having taken his victory for granted, Dushayant can barely conceal his excitement about being in Parliament with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. "My grandmother (Vijayaraje Scindia) worked with him. He is a stalwart and a great man. It feels great that I might be doing the same."

His one concern is whether people will brave the heat and come out to vote on polling day. His supporters want him to better his mother's last Lok Sabha victory margin from here, but he does not want to get into the numbers game. "People call me mama's boy. That's not correct. I am my own person. But my mother is my inspiration."

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