Samarjitsinh Gaekwad

Samarjitsinh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad (born 25 April 1967) is the current head of the Gaekwad dynasty and the unofficial[note 1] Maharaja of Baroda since 2012. He is also a cricket administrator and former first-class cricketer.

Samarjitsinh Gaekwad
Samarjitsinh Gaekwad with his wife Radhikaraje in 2017
Personal information
Full nameSamarjitsinh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad
Born (1967-04-25) 25 April 1967
Baroda, Gujarat, India
BattingRight-handed
RelationsSee Gaekwad dynasty
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1987/88–1988/89Baroda
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 6
Runs scored 119
Batting average 17.00
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 65
Catches/stumpings 3/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 7 September 2019

Early life and family

Samarjitsinh was born on 25 April 1967 as the only son of Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad and Shubhanginiraje.[1] He studied at The Doon School in Dehradun where he simultaneously captained the school's cricket, football and tennis teams.[2] Ranjitsinh became the unofficial Maharaja of Baroda after the death of his elder brother Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad in 1988.[3]

As Ranjitsinh became the Maharaja, Samarjitsinh became part of the line of succession for the Baroda's Gaekwad dynasty. After the death of his father in May 2012, Samarjitsinh became the natural successor to the throne. He was crowned Maharaja in a traditional ceremony at Laxmi Vilas Palace on 22 June 2012.[1] He settled a 23-year-long legal inheritance dispute worth more than ₹20,000 crore (equivalent to ₹270 billion or US$3.8 billion in 2019) (~ US$3 billion in 2013) with his uncle Sangramsinh Gaekwad in 2013. Through the deal, Samarjitsinh secured ownership of Laxmi Vilas Palace, over 600 acres (240 ha) of real estate near the palace including Moti Bagh Stadium and Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, several paintings by Raja Ravi Varma as well as movable assets belonging to Fatehsinghrao such as gold, silver and royal jewelry.[4][5][6][7] He also obtained control of temples trust that operates 17 temples in Gujarat and in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh.[8]

Personal life

Since 2002, Samarjitsinh is married to Radhikaraje, who is from the royal family of Wankaner State; the couple has two daughters.[5] The four of them, along with Shubhanginiraje, live in the Laxmi Vilas Palace, which is the largest private residence in India.[9] After becoming Maharaja, Samarjitsinh opened a section of the palace complex as a banquet facility for private ceremonies under his Laxmi Vilas Banquets venture.[10][9]

Samarjitsinh joined Bharatiya Janata Party in November 2014,[11] but is inactive in politics as of 2017.[5]

Cricket career

Samarjitsinh played cricket for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy. He appeared in six first-class matches as a top-order batsman[5] between the 1987/88 and 1988/89 seasons.[12] He later became a cricket administrator and served as the president of the Baroda Cricket Association.[13] As of 2015, he runs a cricket academy at the Moti Bagh Stadium.[14] Apart from cricket, he played golf and built a 10-hole golf course and clubhouse at the Laxmi Vilas Palace complex.[15][2][9]

Footnotes
  1. The Government of India abolished all official titles, privileges and remuneration of princely states in 1971 through the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India

References
  1. "Samarjitsinh crowned new Gaekwad of Vadodara". India Today. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  2. Mahurkar, Uday (29 August 2005). "Gaekwad inheritance: Legal battle for control of Vadodara royal family property gets messier". India Today. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. Nelson, Dean (24 October 2013). "Baroda Maharaja settles £3 billion inheritance feud". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  4. Pathak, Maulik (24 October 2013). "Vadodara's royal Gaekwad family ends inheritance dispute". Livemint. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  5. Oza, Nandini (20 August 2017). "Flair apparent". The Week. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  6. Jolly, Asit (11 November 2013). "The Royal Bounty". India Today. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  7. "Members of ex-Indian royal family end dispute over palaces, diamonds". The Straits Times. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  8. Mallik, Pradeep (27 October 2013). "THE ROYAL TRUCE". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  9. Sethi, Sunil (20 March 2017). "India's largest private residence unveiled: welcome to the Lukshmi Villas Palace". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  10. "Lakshmi Vilas Palace throws open doors to private banquets". The Indian Express. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  11. "Samarjitsinh Gaekwad joins BJP". The Times of India. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  12. "Samarjeet Gaekwad". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  13. "Scion of Gaekwad family reinstated as BCA president". The Times of India. 17 November 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  14. Tere, Tushar (16 March 2015). "The 'other' royal Gaekwad to train Baroda cricketers". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  15. Chopra, Shaili (10 August 2012). "New king of Baroda Samarjit Sinh Gaekwad shares his thoughts on golf". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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