Even a decade after his demise, the BJP is banking on the legacy of the late “ghar wapsi” campaigner Dilip Singh Judeo to revive its fortunes among tribal communities in Chhattisgarh. The party, which has won only two of the 29 tribal seats in the State, has given a ticket to Judeo’s middle son, Prabal Pratap, and youngest daughter-in-law, Sanyogita Singh Judeo, from Kota and Chandrapur, respectively, with the ‘Bahu Rani’ given the comparatively safer seat. Both candidates are trying to connect with voters on issues, including conversion and development.
Dilip Singh Judeo was the younger son of Raja Vijay Bhushan Singh Deo, the last ruling prince of Jashpur. He was a two-time Member of Parliament and three-time Rajya Sabha MP, who also held a Cabinet rank in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre. According to his family, Judeo, known as the ‘tribal king of Chhattisgarh’, was the first and only member of a royal family in India to wash the feet of tribal people and bring them back into the Hindu fold. He devoted his life to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign. His downfall began after a sting operation against him went viral on social media, forcing him to resign.
After his demise, Judeo’s legacy was taken up by his younger son and the husband of Ms. Sanyogita Singh Judeo, the late Yudhveer Singh Judeo, who won the Chandrapur seat twice, in 2008 and 2013. Yudhveer Singh Deo passed away after a prolonged illness, handing the baton over to his wife. She lost in the 2018 State polls.
