From Royal Palace to poll booth: Yaduveer Wadiyar’s political journey begins

Mysuru royal scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar will be making his foray into electoral politics, with the BJP fielding him as its candidate from the Mysore Lok Sabha segment, replacing sitting MP Pratap Simha.

The 31-year-old US-educated Yaduveer was crowned as the titular head of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family on May 28, 2015, making him the 27th ‘King’ of the Wadiyar dynasty.

Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, widow of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the last descendant of the Wadiyar dynasty, adopted Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs as they did not have any children, after which he was rechristened as Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.

Yaduveer, who enjoys playing the guitar and the Saraswati Veena, has completed his BA in Economics and English at University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the US. He is the grandson of Princess Gayatri Devi, the eldest daughter of the last Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

Interested in history, Yaduveer also plays tennis and is a horse racing enthusiast.

He is married to Trishika Kumari Wadiyar, who hails from the Dungarpur Royal Family in Rajasthan. Trishika’s father Harshavardhan Singh was a BJP Rajya Sabha MP.

Politics is not something new to the Mysuru royal family. The previous scion, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, represented Mysore Parliamentary constituency four times and lost once.

Srikantadatta mostly remained with the Congress, but also had a short stint with the BJP.

Srikantadatta’s father Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last Maharaja of Mysuru, held the position of Rajpramukh/Governor after independence. The royal family still commands considerable respect and affection in the old Mysuru region (south Karnataka). Congress’s attack on Yaduveer may be restrained for this reason, according to a political analyst.