As Priyanka Gandhi Becomes Lok Sabha Member, A Look At Families Who Have Many MPs in Parliament
After winning the Wayanad bypoll, Priyanka Gandhi becomes the 14th member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to take oath in Parliament. Sonia Gandhi has been elected to Lok Sabha six times, while her son, Rahul Gandhi, has been a five-time MP
Priyanka Gandhi became the 14th member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to take oath in Parliament after she won the bypoll to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which was vacated by her brother, Rahul Gandhi who represents the Rae Bareli constituency.
Along with Priyanka, two other members of the Gandhi family – Sonia Gandhi, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in April 2024, and Rahul Gandhi who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad and Rae Bareli, are currently in Parliament.
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s Debut
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took the plunge into active politics in 2019 and was later appointed Congress general secretary.
She won Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of more than 4.1 lakh votes, and surpassed the tally of her brother Rahul Gandhi from the seat.
Her victory comes at a time when the Congress party is reeling under electoral defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra. It would be interesting to see if Priyanka’s official entry into politics would give Congress the much-needed boost and help put it back on the track.
As star campaigner and strategiser, Priyanka helped the Congress make impressive gains in some states as well as in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier in the year. Her campaign helped the Congress get 99 seats in the general election, up from 52 in 2019.
Priyanka was born on January 12, 1972, and attended New Delhi’s Modern School and the Convent of Jesus and Mary. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, and also has a master’s degree in Buddhist studies.
Other MPs In Gandhi Family
Sonia Gandhi has been elected to the Lok Sabha six times – five times from Rae Bareli and once from Amethi. While Rahul Gandhi has been a five-time MP, three times from Amethi, once from Wayanad and now from Rae Bareli.
Other members of the Nehru-Gandhi family who have been Congress MPs are — Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1952-1964 from Phulpur), Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (1964-69 from Phulpur), Uma Nehru (1952-62, 1963 from Sitapur), Indira Gandhi (1964-84 from Rae Bareli, Chikmangalur and Medak), Feroze Gandhi (1952-1960 from Rae Bareli), Shyam Kumari Nehru (1963-69 Rajya Sabha), Arun Nehru (1980-89 from Rae Bareli and Bilhaur), Rajiv Gandhi (1981-91 from Amethi), Sanjay Gandhi (1980 from Amethi).
There are two members of the Gandhi family who have been MPs but represent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They are Maneka Gandhi (1989-1991, 1996-2024 from Pilbhit and Sultanpur) and Varun Gandhi (2009-2024 from Sultanpur and Pilbhit).
Other Families In Parliament
There are several political families whose members are currently members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Congress: Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram is a member of Rajya Sabha while his son, Karti Chidambaram, is a Lok Sabha MP. Similarly, Congress’ ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin’s family is represented by his sister K Kanimozhi, who represents the Thoothukudi Lok Sabha seat, and his relative Dayanadhi Maran, who represents Chennai Central constituency. Maran’s father — Murasoli Maran was the nephew of late DMK founder M Karunanidhi.
Samajwadi Party (SP): The Yadav family has the highest number of elected MPs. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav is elected from Kannauj and his wife Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri. Sons of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger brothers — Dharmendra Yadav and Aditya Yadav — represent Azamgarh and Badaun constituencies respectively. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s cousin – Ram Gopal Yadav represents the party in the Rajya Sabha while his son Akshay Yadav is the Firozabad Lok Sabha MP.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): Sharad Pawar’s family has three representatives in Parliament. Pawar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from his NCP faction while his daughter Supriya Sule represents the Baramati Lok Sabha. His estranged rebel nephew Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar is also a Rajya Sabha nominated by NCP.
Janata Dal (Secular): In Karnataka, the Gowda family has two MPs – former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Janata Dal (Secular) and his son and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who represents Mandya constituency.
Rashtriya Janata Dal: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been a member of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. His wife, Rabri Devi, is a Bihar Assembly member, along with their sons, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav.
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: Four-time MP Farooq Abdullah is a prominent leader in Jammu & Kashmir. His son, Omar Abdullah, served as Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, and was a Lok Sabha MP from 1998 to 2009.
Rajesh Yadav alias Pappu Yadav, an MP from Bihar, serves in the Lok Sabha, while his wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, is a Rajya Sabha member representing Chhattisgarh.
The Scindia royal family too has two representatives in Parliament. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s son Dushyant Singh is the BJP MP from Jhalawar-Baran while her nephew Jyotiraditya Scindia represents Guna Lok Sabha. Scindia is also the Union Minister of Communications.
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