Diya Kumari | |
---|---|
6th Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan | |
Assumed office 15 December 2023 Serving with Prem Chand Bairwa | |
Governor | Kalraj Mishra |
Chief Minister | Bhajan Lal Sharma |
Preceded by | Sachin Pilot |
Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly | |
Assumed office 12 December 2023 | |
Preceded by | Narpat Singh Rajvi |
Constituency | Vidhyadhar Nagar |
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
In office 2019–2023 | |
Preceded by | Hariom Singh Rathore |
Constituency | Rajsamand |
Personal details | |
Born | Jaipur, Rajasthan, India | 30 January 1971
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Spouse |
Narendra Singh (div. 2018) |
Children | 3, including Padmanabh Singh |
Parent(s) | Bhawani Singh Padmini Devi |
Residence | City Palace, Jaipur |
Alma mater | |
Diya Kumari (born 30 January 1971) is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party currently serving as the 6th Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan alongside Prem Chand Bairwa in the ministry of Bhajan Lal Sharma.[1] She currently represents Vidhyadhar Nagar as an MLA in the 16th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. She is a member of the erstwhile royal family of the Jaipur State.
She was a member of Lok Sabha from Rajsamand parliamentary seat between 2019 to 2023.[2]
Kumari is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj in India.
Kumari was born on 30 January 1971 in Jaipur to Bhawani Singh, a decorated Indian Army officer and hotelier, and Padmini Devi.[3][4][5] She is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj.[6]
Kumari attended Modern School (New Delhi), G.D. Somani Memorial School, Mumbai and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School, Jaipur. She holds 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.[2][7][4][8]
She is believed to be a billionaire[4] 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.[9]
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.[10]
Kumari's step grandmother and former queen of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, 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 ticket.[10]
Kumari joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 10 September 2013 before a crowd of two-lakh people, in the presence of then Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, BJP president Rajnath Singh and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, at a rally in Jaipur.[11] She contested the 2013 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate from Sawai Madhopur, and became MLA.[12] However, she did not contest 2018 elections which the BJP ended up losing.[10] In 2019 she was elected as a Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha from Rajsamand.[13] She secured 8.58 lakh votes and her victory margin of 5.51 lakh votes is considered amongst the top 20 biggest margins of victory in 2019.[14][15]
She was appointed as Brand Ambassador, Save the Girl Child, Government of Rajasthan.[2]
She is currently the BJP MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency in 2023 Rajasthan polls instead of sitting five-term MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi.[16][17][18]
Since 15 December 2023, she is serving as Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the ministry of Bhajan Lal Sharma.[19]
Kumari has three children, two sons, Padmanabh Singh and Lakshraj Prakash Singh and a daughter, Gauravi Kumari, from her marriage to Narendra Singh, a commoner (non-royal) and a Chartered Accountant[citation needed][10] which created huge uproar as it was unheard of in royal families.[20] The marriage ended in a divorce in December 2018.[12] She owns a foundation on her name, Princess Diya Kumari Foundation, which is run by her and her children working on women empowerment via social entrepreneurship.[24]
Presented content of the Wikipedia article was extracted in 2023-12-16 based on https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=33555929