Leaders with jumbo families

292 of the 543 members of the last Lok Sabha had exceeded the ?hum do, hamare do? prescription.

LK Advani wants all those who violate the two-child norm to be barred from public office and government jobs, but he’s unlikely to find the political consensus he seeks. As many as 292 of the 543 members of the last Lok Sabha had exceeded the ‘hum do, hamare do’ prescription.

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Advani himself is a model citizen in this matter. Like Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, he has two children, a son and a daughter. PM AB Vajpayee has done better by remaining a bachelor.

The title of ‘13th Lok Sabha MP with most children’ went to Punnulal Mohale of the BJP, with seven sons and five daughters. His nearest rivals were HG Ramulu of the Congress, with two sons and seven daughters, and PM Sayeed, also of the Congress, with one son and seven daughters. Laloo Prasad Yadav, who with nine children would have made the top three, was in the Rajya Sabha.

Altogether, there were 20 members with six or more children, and 17 unmarried members. The unmarried members were, however, a far more distinguished lot than the group of 20. Apart from Vajpayee, the unmarried party included Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Biju Janata Dal chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti.

Patnaik and Bharti were elected to the Lok Sabha but later resigned to lead their respective states.

The largest proportion of unmarried members was from the CPI(M). Four of their 33 members are bachelors. The only unmarried LS member who is known to have contributed to the cause of bachelorhood is Tapan Sikdar, the BJP member from Dum Dum, West Bengal. He started a singles society in Kolkata called ‘Mukta Bihanga’ (free bird).