Can Shivaji Maharaj’s two descendants become princes of polls?

The ongoing general elections in India will witness two descendants of 17th-century Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj contesting the polls: Udayanraje Bhosale from Satara and Chhatrapati Shahu II from Kolhapur

Pune/Kolhapur: One is short-tempered and outspoken. The other is reserved and reticent. They have two things in common, though: a hugely popular ancestor and a garage to die for.

Udayanraje Bhosale from Satara is the 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

The ongoing general elections in India will witness two descendants of 17th-century Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj contesting the polls: Udayanraje Bhosale from Satara and Chhatrapati Shahu II from Kolhapur.

The 76-year-old Shahu is the 12th descendant of Shivaji and grandson of Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur, the legendary democrat and social reformer. He is contesting the election on a Congress ticket against Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Mandlik, whose father and wrestler Sadashiv Mandlik had defeated Shahu’s son Sambhaji in the 2009 polls.

In Satara, Udayanraje, the 13th descendant of Shivaji from a different lineage, is eager to win back his Lok Sabha seat that he lost in the 2019 bypolls after switching from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. He had earlier won the Satara Lok Sabha seat three times — 2009, 2014 and 2019 — as an NCP candidate. This time, he’s up against NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) contestant Shashikant Shinde.

The battle is close in both constituencies, and both royals are making every effort to connect with common people.

Musical chairs

For Udayanraje, who celebrated his 58th birthday in February and is popularly called Maharaj by locals, electoral politics and changing party affiliations are not unfamiliar territory. Since the early 1990s, the political trajectory of the Bhosale family has seen numerous shifts, often relegating ideology to a secondary role.

After facing defeat as an independent candidate in the 1989 Lok Sabha polls, Udayanraje tried his luck with the BJP. He became a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP Maharashtra government in 1998. However, in 2001, he switched to the Congress, before joining the undivided NCP seven years later. After successfully winning the 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections from Satara as an NCP candidate, his attempt to rejoin the BJP resulted in a loss in the bypolls. Recognising his influence in the Maratha community, the BJP nominated him for the Rajya Sabha.

Despite his royal lineage, Udayanraje has a rapport with Satara’s rural populace due to his rustic demeanour. During his campaigns, he tends to emphasise personal narratives over ideological or party-centric themes. His style of flipping the collar of his shirt has been imitated by many, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar during his Satara tour. “It was more than 15 years ago when a friend insisted I do something unique, and I just flipped my collar, which became talk of the town,” Udayanraje said.

The Satara royal has also had his share of controversies, including being accused of involvement in the 1999 murder of NCP worker Sharad Leve. The court subsequently acquitted him.

While submitting his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls, Udayanraje declared assets worth ₹226 crore. He owns eight vehicles worth ₹1.90 crore, including two Mercedes and an Audi. Most of them have registration numbers ending with 007. Unlike James Bond, though, he does not own an Aston Martin.

Udayanraje has a degree in production engineering and has listed farming as his profession in his affidavit.

Reticent royal

Around 120 kilometres away, in Kolhapur, the Lok Sabha polls have offered locals more opportunities to see their “Maharaj”. Often seen sporting a tilak on his forehead and wearing a white kurta pyjama, Shahu is making every effort to meet and greet people from nearby villages.

Unlike Udayanraje, Shahu is reticent and measured, even during his public speeches. He takes a long pause before answering political questions posed by reporters. That’s because, unlike Udayanraje, Shahu isn’t a politician.

“All these years, I had stayed away from active politics. This time, I accepted the offer and entered electoral politics to save democracy,” the Congress candidate said. His elder son, Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, is more ambitious politically and has served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2016 to 2022. His younger son, Malojiraje, was a Congress legislator between 2004 and 2009.

Unlike Udayanraje, Shahu has also largely stayed away from controversies. So much so that his opponent for the 2024 polls, Mandlik, tried to manufacture one when he claimed on April 11 that Shahu was not a real heir but an adopted one. Shahu and his family chose to ignore Mandlik’s remarks.

Shahu has declared assets worth ₹343 crore. He owns a saffron 1936 Maybach, which makes an appearance in Kolhapur every Dussehra when the royal family travels to the Mahalaxmi temple and Dasara Chowk. The vintage car, acquired in 1949, is valued at ₹5 crore. Shahu also owns a 1962 Mercedes valued at ₹20 lakh and a 2019 Mercedes worth ₹40 lakh. A self-proclaimed agriculturist, the 76-year-old holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indore Christian College.