Dynasty in a Democracy? When Fathers And Sons Shared Parliament

The Samajwadi Party's nomination of Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani for the Rajya Sabha has brought another father-son political connection into focus. Dhanraj Nathwani is the son of Parimal Nathwani, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand. Dhanraj is associated with the Reliance Group and serves as a director of Reliance New Energy Limited. He is also the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association.

Political families have been a recurring feature of Indian electoral politics, with members of the same family sometimes serving in Parliament at the same time. Over the years, several fathers and sons have shared the political stage as elected representatives.

The 15th Lok Sabha, elected in 2009, was among the Houses to see several such instances, with four father-son pairs entering the Lok Sabha together.

Here are five father-son duos whose parliamentary careers overlapped.

Mulayam Singh Yadav-Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav represented Uttar Pradesh in the 15th Lok Sabha.

In the 2009 general election, Mulayam Singh Yadav was elected from Mainpuri, while Akhilesh Yadav won from Kannauj. The official list of members elected to the 15th Lok Sabha records both names.

Akhilesh had entered the Lok Sabha in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009. His third term ended in 2012 after he became Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Mulayam and Akhilesh therefore served together in the Lok Sabha from 2009 until Akhilesh left the House in 2012.

Sisir Kumar Adhikari-Suvendu Adhikari

In West Bengal, Sisir Kumar Adhikari and his son Suvendu Adhikari entered the 15th Lok Sabha together in 2009.

Sisir Kumar Adhikari won from Kanthi, while Suvendu Adhikari was elected from Tamluk. The official parliamentary record lists both among the members elected to the 15th Lok Sabha.

The Times of India report described both as first-time MPs in 2009 and noted their association with the Trinamool Congress campaign in Nandigram.

Suvendu was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009 and re-elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, according to his parliamentary profile.

H D Deve Gowda - H D Kumaraswamy

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy were among the father-son pairs who served together in the 15th Lok Sabha.

In the 2009 general election, Deve Gowda was elected from Hassan in Karnataka, while Kumaraswamy won the Bangalore Rural seat. Contemporary reports described them as the only father-son duo from Karnataka to enter the 15th Lok Sabha together.

Kumaraswamy had earlier served as Karnataka chief minister before entering the Lok Sabha alongside his father.

Ajit Singh-Jayant Chaudhary

Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary also served together in the 15th Lok Sabha.

Ajit Singh was elected from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, while Jayant Chaudhary made his electoral debut from Mathura in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. The official parliamentary list records both as members of the 15th Lok Sabha.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the RLD contested eight seats but failed to win any of them. Ajit Singh was defeated from Baghpat, while Jayant Chaudhary lost from Mathura.

Jaswant Singh-Manvendra Singh

Former Union minister Jaswant Singh and his son Manvendra Singh served in Parliament at the same time, but in different Houses.

Manvendra was elected to the Lok Sabha from Barmer in 2004 and served through the 14th Lok Sabha. During the same period, Jaswant Singh was a member of the Rajya Sabha and served as its Leader of Opposition from 2004 to 2009.

By the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Manvendra was seeking re-election from Barmer, while Jaswant Singh was contesting from Darjeeling. Jaswant Singh won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in 2009, while Manvendra lost the Barmer election. The two therefore did not serve together in the 15th Lok Sabha.