Rajmata of Gwalior (–)
| Vijaya Raje Scindia | |
|---|---|
Scindia on postage cover of India | |
| Tenure | 21 February – 16 July |
| Successor | Madhavi Raje Scindia |
| Tenure | 16 July – 25 January |
| Successor | Madhavi Raje Scindia |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| In office 5 April &#;– 2 April | |
| Preceded by | V. G. Deshpande |
| Succeeded by | Ramsahai Pande |
| Constituency | Guna, Madhya Pradesh |
| In office 2 April &#;– 4 March | |
| Preceded by | Suraj Prasad |
| Succeeded by | Ram Awtar Sharma |
| Constituency | Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh |
| In office 15 March &#;– 18 January | |
| Preceded by | Yashwant Singh Kushwah |
| Succeeded by | Raghubir Singh Machhand |
| Constituency | Bhind, Madhya Pradesh |
| In office 2 December &#;– 10 October | |
| Preceded by | Mahendra Singh |
| Succeeded by | Madhavrao Scindia |
| Constituency | Guna, Madhya Pradesh |
| In office 10 April &#;– 2 December | |
| Constituency | Madhya Pradesh |
| In office – | |
| President | |
| Born | Lekha Divyeshwari Devi ()12 October Sagar, Central Provinces, British India[1] |
| Died | 25 January () (aged&#;81) New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (–) |
| Other political affiliations | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Padma Raje Usha Raje Madhavrao Scindia Vasundhara Raje Yashodhara Raje |
| Parents |
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| Residences | |
Vijaya Raje Scindia (born Lekha Divyeshwari Devi; 12 October – 25 January ), known popularly as the RajmataScindia, was an Indian politician and consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, Jiwajirao Scindia, in British Raj. In later life, she was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament. She was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[2]William Dalrymple wrote in his book The Age of Kali that she had been called "a madwoman and a saint; a dangerous reactionary and a national saviour; a stubborn and self-righteous old lunatic and a brave and resilient visionary."[3]
Vijaya Raje Scindia was born in at Sagar in present-day Madhya Pradesh, the eldest child of Thakur Mahendra Singh of Kotla State (U.P.), a government officer, by his second wife, Chuda Devashwari Devi.[citation needed] She was named Lekha Divyeshwari Devi at birth. Her father was a deputy collector in the provincial administration. Her mother was the daughter of former Commander-in-chief of the Nepalese ArmyKhadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the nephew of founder of Rana dynasty of Nepal, Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana. She died at Vijaya Raje's birth. Her brother is Dhyanendra Singh, husband of Maya Singh.[4]
In February ,[5] at the age of 22, Lekha was married to Jiwajirao Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior, one of the largest, richest and highest-ranking princely states in India.
Vijaya Raje and Jiwajirao had four daughters and a son:
Vijayaraje was initiated into electoral politics in when she contested and won the GunaLok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on a Congress ticket. Five years later, she won on a Congress ticket from Gwalior. Later, she quit the Congress and won the Guna seat in on Swatantra Party's ticket. She soon joined Bharatiya Jan Sangh and resigned from Lok Sabha to take part in state politics. She won the Karera assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh as the Jan Sangh candidate in and actively engaged in state politics. Jan Sangh defied the Indira-wave in the Lok Sabha polls to win 3 seats in Gwalior region – Vijaya Raje Scindia from Bhind, Vajpayee from Gwalior and Madhavrao Scindia from Guna, though he later left the party.[6] Vijayaraje Scindia did not contest Lok Sabha elections in and and lost to Indira Gandhi in Rae Bareli in In , she won from Guna as member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and retained the seat in , and She did not contest the elections in due to old age. She was jailed by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, ultimately sharing a cell with fellow Rajmata and MP, Gayatri Devi, in Tihar Jail. In the s, Vijayraje and her son Madhavrao were involved in a public dispute over property. Animosities heightened due to their differing political ideologies.
Vijayaraje came to the forefront of the BJP leadership in when she was made one of its vice-presidents. She played a key role in popularizing the party's Ram Janmabhoomi movement and was considered a hardliner. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December , she had declared that "she could now die without any regret, for she had seen her dream come true."[7] She remained a BJP vice-president until when she stepped down on health grounds and quit electoral politics. She died in January
| Ancestors of Vijaya Raje Scindia |
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