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19 June 2011, that is 12 years ago. It was Sunday. There was a great commotion in the city of Wankaner that day, for two reasons. One was that the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi had come to Wankaner and the second reason was that Kunwar from the royal family of Wankaner was to officially join the BJP, whose father had been a minister in Indira Gandhi’s government. After all this time, Modi himself may not have forgotten the words that were uttered in the full house for Narendra Modi on this day. The reason behind the mention of this is the Rajya Sabha elections currently being held in Gujarat.
BJP has a history, whenever a name is announced for a post, it is ‘out of the box’. Whether this exercise is for the head of the taluka, district panchayat, for the candidates of the assembly, in whose name the mandate is to be given for the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, or to make a minister or chief minister. At such a time, not only the common people, journalists, political analysts, but also the party people are surprised and a name is announced suddenly, but the political math behind this name is also very long, that is, the two names that the BJP used in the Rajya Sabha elections too. This tradition has been preserved even in the announced.
Kesridev Singh has filed his candidature for Rajya Sabha election from BJP.
BJP decree for MLAs
A week ago, the BJP had ordered all its MLAs not to leave Gandhinagar till July 13, as three of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats belonging to Gujarat fell vacant. Apart from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the mystery of which two new leaders to send to the Rajya Sabha remained. Among the two names that have been revealed now, the first name is former BJP MLA from Banaskantha district Babu Desai and the second name is Kesridevsinh Jhala from the royal family of Wankaner, whose father had strong connections with Indira Gandhi’s government, so the BJP has hit many targets with one arrow. It seems so.
Congress connection of Vankaner royalty
Dr. Digvijaysinhji Jhala, the 15th generation royal of the Raj family of Wankaner, started his studies from Rajkot’s Rajkumar College and later pursued a double PhD in Environment at Cambridge University in England. This was the period when Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country had passed away in the year 1964 and now the new generation Congress was undergoing major changes. Two years ago, Dr. Digvijaysinhji Jhala became MLA by contesting independent election from Wankaner seat. He was an MLA from 1962 to 1967. After 1971 he joined Congress. He contested the Lok Sabha elections from Surendranagar and was an MP for two terms from 1979 to 1989. When Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, a separate Ministry of Environment was created for the first time in the Central Government and in 1982, Dr. Digvijaysinhji Jhala became the first Environment Minister of the country. He was a minister till 1984.
Kesridevsinh’s father Dr. Digvijaysinhji was the Environment Minister in Indira Gandhi’s government.
Before that, Pratap Singh, the grandfather of Kesharidev Singh, represented Vankaner as the first MLA in the first assembly after the independence of the country from 1952 to 1957. At that time he became an unopposed MLA. Kesridevsinh Jhala’s uncle Janaksinh Jhala was also MLA from Wankaner from 1975 to 1980.
After the death of Indira Gandhi, Digvijay Singh Jhala withdrew from active politics
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, there were many changes in the central level politics of the Congress and gradually even the royal family of Vankaner became inactive from the mainstream politics. However socially Dr. Digvijaysinghji Jhala did many works. He kept in touch with the Indian Railways and insisted on laying cement sleepers instead of wood between the railway tracks. He became the first chairman of Gujarat Heritage Hotel Association. Even in the field of education, he founded several institutes, but amidst political inaction, a major incident took place in 2011 and again the family came into the limelight from Gandhinagar to Delhi.
The then Chief Minister Narendra Modi went to Wankaner to welcome Kesridevsinh Jhala to the BJP. where a grand program was held.
A new generation’s entry into politics
Born on 20 August 1932, Dr. Digvijaysinghji Jhala was 79 years old. It had been 4 years since his son Kesridevsinh Jhala returned to his hometown after studying abroad. At such a time somehow he came in contact with BJP and decided to join BJP in the presence of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
What was ‘prophesied’ about Narendra Modi in this program?
On 19 June 2011, not two or four, but 26 members of the royal family from Gujarat and Rajasthan arrived in Wankaner. In whose presence Narendra Modi made Kesridevsinh Jhala wear the sash of BJP and thus formally entered the BJP. The program was also controversial, as the royals declared the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi as PM-in-waiting in a grand function held at Ranjit Vilas Palace in Wankaner three years after the Lok Sabha elections.
Which royals appeared with Modi?
At that time, most of the royals who sat on the dais with Narendra Modi, possibly for the first time, were from Saurashtra. The presence of Rajvi Shivbhadrasinghji of Bhavnagar, Rajvi Thakor Saheb Baldharsinghji Jhala of Lakhtar, Rajavi Thakor Saheb Prithvi Singhji Jhala of Saila, Prince Mandhatasinhji Jadeja of Rajkot, Darbar Saheb Karshansinghji of Patdi and Darbar Saheb Mahipalsinghji of Jetpur, Raghubir Singh of Sihori in Rajasthan attracted the attention of many leaders, because after a year and a half of this program, Gujarat Assembly elections were held. Narendra Modi was honored in this program in a very unique way. All the royals jointly presented the then Chief Minister Modi with a certificate of honor about four feet in size, which read…
“We all want to see you as Prime Minister. Even saints have given their blessings to see you leading the nation. We wish you a prosperous political career as a ‘Rajpurush’.”
A picture of the time Prime Minister Modi was awarded the certificate in the year 2011
In the program, Modi was called a Kshatriya!
Shivbhadra Singhji addressed the event on behalf of the royals, in which he called the two political leaders Kshatriyas by their actions. He said, “A Kshatriya is one who protects the needy and helps others to develop. In my view, two political leaders in the history of India can be called Kshatriyas by their actions. One is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the other is Narendra Modi.”
What did the then CM Modi say while addressing the people of the royal family?
At that time, the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi said in Wankaner, ‘Because of the diseased mentality of the ruling parties after independence, many facts of India’s glorious past have not been put before the world. People of India are troubled by their history and have forgotten their rich heritage. People who forget the shining heritage of their culture cannot create a new history.’
Prime Minister Modi had accused Indira Gandhi at that time, referring to the unification of the princely state.
Narendra Modi further said, ‘Hundreds of royal families gave up their power on the call of Sardar Patel which is commendable. Getting out of power is not an easy thing. The people of this country have seen when in 1976, the then Prime Minister imposed Emergency for 19 months in the country instead of going out of power.’
Yuvraj Kesridev Singh of the royal family of Vankaner was married to Yoginikumari, a princess of Shihori. At that time, Yuvraj’s royal splendor in Wankaner was full of splendour. On this occasion, many royal families and common people participated enthusiastically. The then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vijay Rupani also attended Kesridev Singh’s wedding.
Narendra Modi also attended Kesridev Singh’s wedding. Vijay Rupani was also seen with him on stage.
What responsibility did Kesridev Singh get after joining BJP?
After joining the BJP, Kesridev Singh was entrusted by the party during the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. After that, in the year 2021, he took over the responsibility of in-charge in the local Swaraj elections. Kesridevsingh has been the Rajkot District Vice President and Morbi District President in his political career. Apart from political, he has been involved in many activities in the social and religious fields as well. Talking about social activism, Kesridev Singh is the president of the youth wing of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha. Vice Principal of Amarsinghji High School, Trustee of Ramakunwarba Girls Hostel, Trustee of Boys Boarding. After being active in the political field, Kesridev Singh regularly attends various programs to unite all societies.
Kesridev Singh’s father Digvijaya Singh, the royal of Wankaner State and former Union Minister, died on 4 April 2021 at the age of 88, a year after which Kesridev Singh was enthroned as the 16th royal of Wankaner on 4 March 2022.
Picture of political ceremony of Kesridev Singh.
The Rajtilak Vidhi Mahotsav of Kesridevsingh Jhala was celebrated with pomp and royal tradition at the Wankaner Palace. The Rajtilak ceremony was performed at the old Durbar Garh with Vedic chants. The Rajtilaka ceremony and coronation was performed with Vedic chants by saints, mahants and royal gore.
The palace was built in the year 1907 by Amarsinghji, the last ruler of Wankaner.
Ranjit Vilas Palace of Wankaner can be said to be a wonderful heritage historically.
Wankaner Maharaja Rajasaheb Amarsinghji built the Rajmahal in 1907 in the name of his friend Jamnagar royal Jam Ranjitsinhji. Which was named ‘Ranjit Vilas Palace’ after a friend. This palace was built on the Garhiya hill in such a way that it can be seen from the surrounding area. It took 7 years to build this palace. The construction was made of sandstone from the stone quarries around Wankaner itself.
Interior picture of Wankaner Palace
Glass imported from Belgium, Italian chandeliers, marble and wood specially ordered from Burma have been used inside the palace. There are more than 200 hunting trophies in the palace. Handcrafted zazam adds to the splendor of the palace manifold. Out of the total 180 acres, 20 acres have been constructed. The palace compound itself has a vintage car garage. This grand building has also been attracting Bollywood for years. So far many films have been shot in the palace of Vankaner.
Even after 100 years, the grandeur of the Wankaner Palace remains intact.
A movie called Gaslight was shot in Wankaner’s Palace not long ago. Actress Sara Ali Khan came to Wankaner for the shooting of this film. This Bollywood thriller film was released on Hotstar, co-starring Vikrant Massey and Chitrangada Singh.
Photo of the time Sara Ali Khan came to Wankaner for the shooting of the film Gaslight.
Earlier Bollywood film ‘Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola’ was also shot at Wankaner’s palace, for which 300 artists including Artfilm senior artists Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Azmi besides Imran Khan and Anushka came to Wankaner. He shot for about 25 days.
The lifestyle of the royal family living in a huge palace is eye-catching. A car owned by the Vankaner Raj family, preserved by the fourth generation of the family as its unique and unique identity, won the first place in India in the preservation category at the Heritage Car Fair held in Hyderabad a few years ago. This car was placed in the preservative category by Kesridevsingh.
Kesridevsingh owns a four generation old vintage car ordered 1002 years ago. Which won the award in the preservative category.
What is in the preservative category?
Kesharidev Singh said that in this category, such cars are selected, in which the company’s original parts, design, color and all things are the same. Even after the passage of years, no change has to be made in it. The royal family of Vankaner has maintained the status quo of the cars they own.
The fourth generation of the same family has been preserving cars for 102 years
The Rolls Royal Silver Car was specially ordered by the Maharaja of Wankaner from England in the year 1921. Today this car is preserved in the same condition by its fourth generation as a sign and memory of its forefathers.
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