The Rajas and Ranis have stepped out in the heat and dust of elections, putting aside their chiffons, diamonds and brocades for a change.

However, this time, the going does not seem too easy for the royal candidates whose influence over the people seems to be on the wane. The legendary royal battle that takes place in every election in Pratapgarh district between Rajkumari Ratna Singh of Kalakankar estate and Raghuraj Pratap Singh of Bainti and Bhadri estates, is all set to unfold once again. However, changing caste equations and the delimitation have changed the complexion of this battle. Raghuraj Pratap Singh a.k.a. Raja Bhaiyya has lost his edge in this Lok Sabha seat because two assembly segments, Kunda and Bihar, that were his strongholds, have been cut out in delimitation. His cousin Akshay Pratap Singh who is contesting on a Samajwadi ticket, therefore, is finding the going rather tough and Raja Bhaiyya’s hospitalisation, following a chopper accident two days ago, has further added to his woes.

The going is not smooth for Rajkumari Ratna Singh either who has BSP’s Shivakant Ojha eating into her Brahmin vote base and Ateeq Ahmad of Apna Dal denting her Muslim vote base. In Gonda Lok Sabha constituency, the contestant is Kirti Vardhan Singh, the scion of the Mankapur estate. In the post delimitation scenario, the young Raja switched loyalties from the Samajwadi Party to the BSP but is facing tough competition from Beni Prasad Varma of Congress who is gnawing at the OBC vote base and is also wooing Muslim voters with a vengeance.

In Rampur, Begum Noor Bano of Rampur estate is trying to make a comeback into the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and may even benefit from the bitter battle that is being fought in the Samajwadi arena between Mohd Azam Khan and Lok Sabha candidate Jaya Prada. However, the fact that her son, Nawab Kazim Ali is now in the BSP and is campaigning for his party, has weakened her position considerably.

Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh of Bah estate is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the Fatehpur Sikri constituency. He is pitted against actor-turned politician Raj Babbar of the Congress, who has been relentlessly campaigning since the past one year, and Seema Upadhyaya, who is a BSP minister’s wife. The Raja is facing a formidable battle on his own home turf.

Kunwar RPN Singh of Padrauna estate is contesting elections from Kushinagar on a Congress ticket. Having lost the 2004 elections with a slender margin, he is all set to reach the victory stand this time though he does face stiff competition from the BSP, which has fielded its state president Swami Prasad Maurya from this seat.

A first timer in politics is Ajeya Singh, son of former prime minister V P Singh, also known as Raja of Manda. The young royal candidate is making his debut from Fatehpur on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket.