NEW DELHI: When Varun Gandhi ties the nuptial knot with graphic designer Yamini Roy Chaudhary on Sunday at Kanchi Mutt in Varanasi, amid chanting of mantras, he would have scored a victory over his first cousin Rahul Gandhi, both politically and socially.
It was in February 1916 Jawaharlal Nehru married Kamala Kaul, a Brahmin, and now nearly 100 years later, his great-grandson Varun Gandhi would be following in his footsteps. It is the first “arranged” marriage after Nehru where the bride is a Brahmin. After Nehru, his daughter Indira fell in love with Feroz Gandhi, a Parsi, and they were married in a court. Similarly, Indira’s sons - Rajiv Gandhi married an Italian Sonia Maino, while Sanjay Gandhi married a Sikh girl, Maneka Anand. Both were love marriages.
Rahul Gandhi is stated to be having an affair with Columbian girl Juvenita. Priyanka, his sister, married a Christian, Robert Vadra, though mom Sonia protested initially and gave in later to the insistence of her daughter. Rahul, who suffered a fracture in his leg, will not be attending the marriage. Similarly, Sonia, too, would not make it, though Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra are likely to attend the wedding. The BJP top leadership, including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh, have not been invited for the wedding and would attend the reception in Delhi to be held later.
Initially, the reception was slated for March 8 but due to the death of Maneka’s mother, Amteshwara Anand, the reception was cancelled at the last minute. Whether it is by design or otherwise, Varun has succeeded in sending out signals and that, too, ahead of the UP Assembly elections in 2012 that he is deeply-rooted in Indian ethos. Varun has been particular in following traditions.
Yamini will wear heirloom Banarsi saree in the wedding, gifted to Maneka Gandhi by her mother-in-law on her wedding, and the rites would be performed amid the chanting of Vedic mantras.
To any poll analyst, all these factors can enhance one’s image in the poll-going State of UP, where Varun has tactfully followed the legacy. If this was not enough, keeping to his Hindutva image, Varun, sources stated, has also been particular in ensuring that Yamini is the “right match” for him by going through the Kundli of his bride. Thus, when Shehnai maestro, the late Bismillah Khan’s son-in-law and disciple Ustad Ali Abas will render ragas, creating a magical atmosphere at the wedding, for his opponents in other parties, it may not be music to their ears.