# Diya Kumari

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. She currently represents Vidhyadhar Nagar as an MLA in the 16th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. She is a member of Kachhwaha family of the Jaipur State.
She was a member of Lok Sabha from Rajsamand parliamentary seat between 2019 and 2023.
Kumari is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj in India.

## Early life and education

Kumari was born on 30 January 1971 in Jaipur to Bhawani Singh, a decorated Indian Army officer and hotelier, and Padmini Devi. She is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj.
Kumari attended Modern School (New Delhi), G.D. Somani Memorial School, Mumbai and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School, Jaipur. She holds a 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.
She is believed to be a billionaire 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.

## Political career

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.
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.
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. She contested the 2013 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate from Sawai Madhopur, and became MLA. However, she did not contest the 2018 elections which the BJP ended up losing. In 2019 she was elected as a Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha from Rajsamand. She secured 858,000 votes and her victory margin of 551,000 votes is considered amongst the top 20 biggest margins of victory in 2019.
She was appointed Brand Ambassador, Save the Girl Child, Government of Rajasthan.
She is currently the BJP MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency in 2023 Rajasthan polls instead of sitting five-term MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi.
Since 15 December 2023, she is serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the ministry of Bhajan Lal Sharma.

## Electoral record

Election results :
| Year | Office | Constituency | Party | Votes for Diya Kumari | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Margin | Result |
| 2013 | Member of the Legislative Assembly | Sawai Madhopur | Bharatiya Janata Party | 57,384 | 37.29 | Kirodi Lal Meena | National People's Party | 49,852 | 38.68 | 7,532 | Won |
| 2019 | Member of the Lok Sabha | Rajsamand | Bharatiya Janata Party | 863,039 | 69.61 | Devikinandan Gurjar | Indian National Congress | 311,123 | 25.09 | 551,916 | Won |
| 2023 | Member of the Legislative Assembly | Vidhyadhar Nagar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 158,516 | 63.30 | Sitaram Agarwal | Indian National Congress | 87,148 | 34.80 | 71,368 | Won |

## Personal life

Kumari has three children including Padmanabh Singh. These children are from her marriage to Narendra Singh. Narendra Singh was an employee at the City Palace, the residence of the Jaipur royals, in 1997. She married in the same gotra which resulted in Rajput community unhappy and furious. Marriage within same gotra (clan) is prohibited by certain sections of Hindu society who believe people of the same gotra are siblings. Rajasthani society, which is still bound by feudal and semi-feudal loyalties, did not accept the match and followed it up with social boycott. The marriage ended in a divorce in December 2018.
Kumari owns a foundation, named the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation, which she runs with her children working on women empowerment via social entrepreneurship.