Diya Kumari (born 30 January 1971) is an Indian politician from

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

currently serving as the 5th Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan alongside Prem Chand Bairwa in the ministry of Bhajan Lal Sharma. She currently represents Vidhyadhar Nagar as an MLA in the 16th

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, also known as the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha, is the unicameral legislature of the state of Rajasthan. It is a vital part of the state government, responsible for making and implementing laws. The assembly meets ...

. She is a member of Kachhwaha family of the

Jaipur State The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput dynasty. The kingdom was established by Dulha Rai, possibly t ...

. She was a member of

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from Rajsamand parliamentary seat between 2019 and 2023. Kumari is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

of the princely state of

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

in India.

Early life and education

Kumari was born on 30 January 1971 in Jaipur to Bhawani Singh, a decorated

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and hotelier, and Padmini Devi. She is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of

during the British Raj. Kumari attended Modern School (New Delhi), G.D. Somani Memorial School,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School, Jaipur. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art (Decorative Painting) educated at Chelsea School of Arts, London in 1989 and a Hon. Doctorate in Philosophy from Amity University, Jaipur. She is believed to be a billionaire as she manages several properties, businesses, trusts and schools, including City Palace, Jaipur, which is also her residence; Jaigarh Fort, Amber and two trusts: Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust, Jaipur and the Jaigarh Public Charitable Trust; two schools: The Palace School and Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School; and three hotels: Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur, Hotel Jaipur House at Mount Abu and Hotel Lal Mahal Palace, Jaipur.

Personal life

Kumari has three children including

Padmanabh Singh Padmanabh Singh (born 2 July 1998) is an Indian Polo player and head of the Kachhwaha clan, the former royal family of the Jaipur State. Personal life Padmanabh Singh was born in New Delhi on 2 July 1998 to Diya Kumari, an Indian politician, ...

. These children are from her marriage to Narendra Singh. Narendra Singh was an employee at the City Palace, the residence of the Jaipur royals, in 1997. She married in the same

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

which resulted in Rajput community unhappy and furious. Marriage within same gotra (clan) is prohibited by certain sections of Hindu society who believe people of the same gotra are siblings. Rajasthani society, which is still bound by feudal and semi-feudal loyalties, did not accept the match and followed it up with social boycott. The marriage ended in a divorce in December 2018. Kumari owns a foundation, named the ''Princess Diya Kumari Foundation'', which she runs with her children working on women empowerment via social entrepreneurship.

Political career

Kumari's late father and former titular king of Jaipur, Bhawani Singh, had contested the 1989 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket from Jaipur, but was defeated by the BJP candidate. Kumari's step grandmother and former queen of Jaipur,

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for the ...

, had been elected as an MP from the Jaipur constituency three times in 1962, 1967 and 1971. She had won these polls by record margins on the

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly so ...

ticket. Kumari joined the

on 10 September 2013 before a crowd of two-lakh people, in the presence of then

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

, BJP president

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...

and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, at a rally in Jaipur. She contested the 2013 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate from Sawai Madhopur, and became MLA. However, she did not contest the 2018 elections which the BJP ended up losing. In 2019 she was elected as a Member of Parliament to the

from Rajsamand. She secured 858,000 votes and her victory margin of 551,000 votes is considered amongst the top 20 biggest margins of victory in 2019. She was appointed Brand Ambassador, Save the Girl Child, Government of Rajasthan. She is currently the BJP MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency in 2023 Rajasthan polls instead of sitting five-term MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi. Since 15 December 2023, she is serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the ministry of

Bhajan Lal Sharma Bhajan Lal Sharma (born 15 December 1966) is an Indian politician serving as the current chief minister of Rajasthan since December 2023. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he represents the Sanaganer constituency in the 16th Raj ...

Controversy

In December 2023, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Rajasthan High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Deputy Chief Minister's post, naming Prem Chand Bairwa and Diya Kumari as respondents.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumari, Diya 1971 births Politicians from Jaipur Living people Women members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Rajasthan MLAs 2013–2018 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan 21st-century Indian women politicians India MPs 2019–2024 Women members of the Lok Sabha Rajput princesses Rajasthan MLAs 2023–2028 Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Rajasthan Deputy chief ministers of Rajasthan Women deputy chief ministers of Indian states