Royal wins for scions of erstwhile princely states

JAIPUR: The charm and influence of royals in Rajasthan remains undiminished, with all five scions of erstwhile princely states fielded by BJP romping home, most of them by handsome margins. The lone ex-royal candidate of Congress, however, bit the dust.

Leading BJP's victory march were former CM Vasundhara Raje and CM contender Diya Kumari from Jhalrapatan and Vidyadhar Nagar assembly seats, respectively.

Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, who belongs to the Jaipur royal family, triumphed over her Congress rival Sitaram Agarwal by 71,368 votes, one of the highest victory margins in the state.

Raje retained her bastion for the sixth time, beating her rival by 53,193 votes.

Siddhi Kumari, erstwhile princess of Bikaner, who has been winning Bikaner East for BJP since 2008, secured the seat once again, defeating Yashpal Gehlot of Congress by a margin of 19,303 votes.

Vishvendra Singh of the Bharatpur royal family, who was defending the Deeg-Kumher seat for Congress, lost by 7,895 votes.