Odisha is primed for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly. The state will witness simultaneous polls for its 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly segments from May 13 to June 1. Among the candidates in the fray are members of different royal families.
Out of the 12 "royal contenders", there are 8 BJD candidates, 3 from BJP and one representing the Congress. While 10 of them participating in the assembly polls, the other two are aiming to become Lok Sabha MPs. Here is a look at the royal scions looking to become members of the Odisha assembly.
1. Susmita Singh Deo
Susmita Singh Deo, the only royal who got a ticket from the Congress Party, contests the election from the Dhenkanal Assembly seat. She is a member of the Dhenkanal royal family and a relative of the former Union Minister, K.P. Singh Deo.
2. Sulakshana Geetanjali Devi
Sulakshana Geetanjali Devi
Sulakshana Geetanjali Devi, daughter of the former MLA Nandini Devi, has obtained the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ticket for the upcoming Assembly elections. Belonging to the Dharakote royal family, this 28-year-old law graduate is contesting from the Sanakhemundi assembly constituency. She is the fifth from her family to seek people's mandate, after her mother, late grandfather, the four-time MLA and ex-MP A N Singh Deo, grandmother Shanti Devi and father Kishor Chandra Singh Deo, who were also elected from the same seat.
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3. Arundhati Devi
BJD has fielded Arundhati Devi as its candidate in the Deogarh Assembly constituency. Her spouse, Nitesh Ganga Deb, is Deogarh's titular king and Sambalpur's present MP. After leaving the BJP, Arundhati Devi, along with her son, joined the ruling party of Odisha in 2024.
4. Pushpendra Singh Deo
Pushpendra Singh Deo
A member of the Jaipatna royal clan, Pushpendra Singh Deo is all set to run as the MLA candidate for BJD in Dharmgarh. Deo won from Koksara in 2004 as well as from Dharmgarh in 2009 and 2014. However, in 2019, he contested from the Kalahandi seat but was beaten.
5. Sanjukta Singh
The wife of the royal scion of Angul, Sanjukta Singh, has obtained the BJD ticket to contest in the Assembly elections from the Angul constituency. Her husband Rajanikant Singh, is the sitting MLA from the same seat and serves as the Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Assembly.
6. Pratyusha Rajeswari
Pratyusha Rajeswari
Pratyusha Rajeswari, a former MP and member of the Nayagarh royal family, is the current vice president of BJP in Odisha. She joined BJP in 2019 after leaving BJD and is the MLA candidate from the Nayagarh assembly seat. Her late husband, Hemendra Chandra Singh, was an ex-MP who passed away while holding office in 2014.
7. Pratap Deb
Pratap Keshari Deb, a member of the Aul royal clan, is contesting the assembly elections from the Aul constituency. An ex-member of the Rajya Sabha, he is the Energy Minister and sitting MLA from this seat.
8. KV Singh Deo
Descendant of the Bolangir royal family, KV Singh Deo is the BJP candidate from the Patnagarh Assembly constituency. His wife Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo is a four-time MP of the Bolangir constituency and is also the MP contender for the BJP in the 2024 elections.
9. Chinmayananda Srirup Deb
Political heir to his mother Usha Devi, Srirup Deb is preparing to run for office in the Chikiti Assembly segment. Srirup Deb, the third member of the Chikiti royal family to contest the elections, left his job at a multinational IT firm and started his own business. Deb also stated that he has worked in politics with his mother since 2018. His mother Usha Devi secured five consecutive wins since 2000, and his grandfather Sachidananda Deo got elected from this seat in 1971.
10. Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo
Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo
The two-time MP from Bolangir, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, is running for the Bolangir Assembly seat with the BJD ticket. He is the son of retired politician and Pattayat king Ananga Udaya Singh Deo and grandson of Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, ex-Chief Minister of Odisha.
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