Indian politics has seen several brother-sister duos and even trios, some very popular, some not-so-well-known, since the beginning of time. While some set of siblings work or have worked in the same party, some, despite being born in the same family or to same parents, have chosen different political paths.
It is not uncommon to see siblings take the legacy of their family businesses forward, the same is a practice in Indian politics too where brother-sister combos like Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi and Kanmimozhi and MK Stalin have been working to take their political legacies to new heights.
As India observes Bhai Dooj, a festival that celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters, today and tomorrow, take a look at siblings in Indian politics that you may or may not have heard about.
–Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi
To begin with, the Gandhi siblings of the Congress party lead the list of brother and sister duos in Indian politics. Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP and former Congress president, and Priyanka Gandhi, party’s general secretary, are the children of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi and known to be very close to each other, having stood with each other like pillars in their political careers.
Rahul Gandhi has been fighting the family’s political battle upfront from the Indian National Congress (INC) since 2004. Priyanka, on the other hand, joined the political race in January this year.
-Kanimozhi and MK Stalin
Kanimozhi and MK Stalin, late M Karunanidhi’s children, are leading the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. MK Stalin is the seventh and current chief minister of Tamil Nadu and has been a five-time MLA in Tamil Nadu Legislative assembly and a one-time deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, while Kanimozhi is a Member of the Parliament in Lok Sabha from Thoothukkudi constituency.
Kanimozhi is the deputy general secretary and women’s wing secretary, while Stalin has been the president of the DMK party since 28 August 2018.
-The Scindia siblings
Madhavrao Scindia, Yashodara Scindia and Vasundhara Raje, born to Gwalior’s last ruling king, chose to follow their mother — Vijaya Raje Scindia, a prominent Indian political personality — and entered politics but chose different paths. While Madhavrao Scindia was a Congress loyalist, his sisters Yashodara and Vasundhara Raje opted for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Madhavrao Scindia, whose son Jyotiraditya left Congress in 2020 to join the BJP, died in a plane crash in 2001. Yashodhara Raje Scindia is the Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare, Technical Education and Skill Development and Employment of Madhya Pradesh, while Vasundhara Raje has held two terms as the chief minister of Rajasthan – 2003 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018.
Madhavrao Scindia set up Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress in 1996, after he was refused a Congress ticket for the Lok Sabha. Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress joined the United Front, which was at the Centre for two years. In 1998, this party again merged with the Congress.
-Tej Pratap Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharti
Another set of siblings who joined family politics are children of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder and president Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, who is also a party leader. The trio, like their parents, joined the RJD and have continued their political careers in the same. Tejashwi Yadav is the current deputy chief minister of Bihar and has had a short stint in cricket too. In 2008, Tejashwi was contracted by the Delhi Daredevils for that year’s Indian Premier League franchise.
Tej Pratap is the cabinet minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Department in the Bihar government. He was MLA of Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Mahua constituency as a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) from 2015 to 2020. Misa Bharti, meanwhile, is a Rajya Sabha MP. In 2014, Bharti unsuccessfully contested the Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency and lost to RJD rebel Ram Kripal Yadav who had joined BJP. She again lost in 2019 Lok Sabha election from the same Pataliputra constituency.
-Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule
The two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders are first cousins, While Supriya Sule is NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Ajit Pawar is son of Sharad Pawar’s elder brother, Anantrao Pawar.
The relation between Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule reportedly soured in 2019 when the former who broke ranks to join hands with the BJP to form the government. However, despite their highs and lows in politics, these siblings have managed to move past everything and share a close bond.
After Ajit Pawar’s stunning move to support the BJP in 2019, Supriya Sule had broken the news of a split in the Pawar family and the Nationalist Congress Party. Days after the entire crisis settled, the two were seen hugging it.
-Jagan Mohan Reddy and Sharmila
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is the elder brother Yeduguri Sandinti Sharmila Reddy. Born to YS Rajasekhara Reddy and YS Vijayamma, Jagan and Sharmila have had political differences.
In February 2021, Sharmila alleged that she had political differences with her brother, who is the chief of YSRCP, and claimed there is no presence of the party in the state of Telangana. In the same year on April 9, Sharmila announced that she would launch a new political party on July 8. She chose the date as it is the birth date of her father.
Ahead of the party’s launch, she has started campaigning against the incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government.
-Omar Abdullah and Sara Pilot
Omar Abdullah and Sarah Pilot, are the children of former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Omar, the elder son, became the youngest member of the Lok Sabha in 1998, joining the 12th Lok Sabha at the age of 29. In 2002, the 49-year-old stepped into his father’s shoes and became the President of National Conference party.
Following a good term, he was re-elected to the post in 2006. Omar Abdullah became the 11th and the youngest chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, in January 2009.
Sarah, on the other hand, is the wife of Congress leader Sachin Pilot, and has been often hailed for her efforts in women-related issues. She is also known for working with NGOs in the interest of the women of her state.
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