Royal lady Diya's journey from palace to Parliament

Erstwhile royal family member Diya Kumari is the second in her family after her grandmother and charismatic 'Rajmata' Gayatri Devi to have been elected to the Lok Sabha. A 48-year-old Diya won the Rajsamand parliamentary seat by defeating her nearest rival Devkinandan Gurjar of the Congress by over five lakh votes.

Diya Kumari, a former MLA from Sawai Madhopur, who contested the Lok Sabha polls for the first time, defeated Devkinandan (also known as kaka) by 5,51,916 votes. She got 8,63,039 votes as against 3,11,123 votes of Devkinandan, who is also Congress party's district president from there.

After her name was announced in the fourth list of BJP as Rajsamand candidate, Diya dedicated her victory to the party leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's exemplary work. In her election rallies, she promised to develop tourism infrastructure, bringing a broad gauge railway line and better roads in her Rajsamand district. Soon after she won, she tweeted: "Josh is high".

Diya's grandmother Gayatri Devi was a three-time MP. Her father Bhawani Singh fought Lok Sabha elections in 1987 but could not win. On her campaign trail Diya invoked nationalism by striking a chord with youth willing to join military. She remembered her father's sacrifices.

Before entering into politics, Diya Kumari for several years worked to empower women from deprived backgrounds. Her NGO Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF) helps women become independent and self-sufficient by skill development and livelihood opportunities. Diya's performance in LS polls was tremendous despite having tremors in her private life. Separated from her husband after 20 years of marriage, she has two sons and a daughter.