Wronged women avenge themselves in UP elections

Uttar Pradesh has given its “wronged women” a sense of “natural justice” in the recently concluded Assembly elections, by awarding them stunning victories against those who were perceived to be their tormentors. Topping the list is Garima Singh of Amethi, who contested from the VIP seat against her estranged husband and erstwhile Maharaja of Amethi, Sanjay Singh’s “second wife”, Ameeta Sinh—both women claimed themselves to be the real “Maharani” of what was once a princely state.

Speaking on behalf of his mother Garima Singh, who won the three-way contest in Amethi that also involved incumbent MLA Gayatri Prasad of the Samajwadi Party, Anant Vikram Singh linked the results to Amethi’s prestige. “It was a matter of prestige not just for my mother but also for Amethi. And the people of Amethi have vindicated not just my mother but also themselves,” Anant Vikram told The Sunday Guardian over phone from Amethi.

Sanjay Singh, who served as a Union Minister in former Prime Minister V.P. Singh’s Cabinet, is locked in a bitter power struggle with his estranged wife, Garima, with the latter claiming her and her children’s rights over the royal estates. Sanjay Singh married Ameeta Sinh in the 1990s after “divorcing” his first wife—the divorce was rendered invalid in both the state’s high court and the Supreme Court, subsequently. Sanjay Singh continues to live with Ameeta Sinh, who claims herself to be his legally wedded wife.

“When elections were announced, Maharaj (Sanjay Singh) went around telling the people that only one member from the royal family would contest. But when my mother got the ticket from BJP, he fielded Ameeta on a Congress ticket. He has been in politics for 40 years and he did this despite know- ing Ameeta would not win against my mother,” Anant Vikram told this reporter, shedding light on what he called his step- mother’s ploy to keep the first wife subdued.

“His (Sanjay Singh) only intention behind fielding Ameeta was to divide the vote bank that is loyal to the family and in the process, get SP’s Gaytri Prasad win the election. He did that to fulfil Ameeta’s design of keeping my mother away from the lands and estates of the royal family. But Amethi’s people gave a meaningful verdict and made it clear to everybody who is the real Maharani and who is the impostor,” Vikram said jubilantly.

The tussle between the two “Maharanis” became glaring in July 2014, when Garima, now 60, “forcibly” moved into the erstwhile royal family’s Bhupati Bhawan in Amethi along with her son and two daughters, Mahima and Shaivya. In the following September, as