Contradiction or not, the episode highlights a reality that has long existed in India’s politics: political rivalries do not always translate into personal ones. Despite fierce battles in public, politicians and their families have often maintained relationships across party lines. Political analyst and professor Chandrachud Singh said these alliances are entirely in the spirit of democracy. “Democracy is about choices, not conformity. We cannot expect every person in a family to subscribe to the same political ideology. In a society that values individual autonomy and agency, there is nothing unusual about family members, including spouses, belonging to different political parties,” he told ThePrint. Adding, “Political diversity within families is not a problem—it is a reflection of the freedom that democracy seeks to protect.” ThePrint looks at other instances where political affiliations did not come in the way of matrimonial alliances. Also Read: Ex-CMs Amarinder, Bahuguna, Reddy—how many Congress defectors have fallen by the wayside in BJP Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad shares a close family connection with the Congress through his sister, Anuradha Patel, who is married to Rajeev Shukla, a Rajya Sabha member from the Congress party. Despite their differing political affiliations, there has never been any public indication that politics has affected family ties—the siblings have been seen celebrating the festival of Raksha Bandhan for years now. Ravi Shankar Prasad serves as a spokesperson in the BJP and Anuradha Patel is the chairperson and MD of B.A.G Films & Media. Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar’s daughter, Aishwarya Shivakumar, married Amartya Hegde, grandson of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader S.M. Krishna in 2021. Amartya is the son of Krishna’s daughter Malvika who was married to V.G. Siddharth, the late Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder. D.K. Shivakumar was seen to be very close to Krishna when the latter was in the Congress. The former chief minister joined the BJP in 2017. Congress leader Sachin Pilot, son of former Union minister and senior Congress leader late Rajesh Pilot, married Sara Abdullah, daughter of National Conference (NC) patriarch Farooq Abdullah, in 2004. The inter-faith marriage faced resistance from sections of the Abdullah family but eventually gained acceptance, becoming one of India’s most prominent political unions across party and regional lines before ending in divorce. Pilot serves as Congress party’s general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh, and Sara runs a Non-Governmental Organisation out of Delhi after their divorce. They continue to co-parent their two sons. When Chandrababu Naidu married N.T. Rama Rao’s daughter Bhuvaneswari in 1981, he was a Congress minister while NTR had not yet launched the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Within a year, NTR entered politics and emerged as the Congress’s principal challenger in Andhra Pradesh. NTR dislodged the Congress from power in 1983 when Naidu was still in the Congress. Naidu quit it to join the TDP later, eventually succeeding his father-in-law as the party leader; they remained in opposing parties, however. Chandrababu Naidu is the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and his wife N. Bhuvaneswari is the vice-chairperson and MD of Heritage Foods Ltd. Late BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley married Sangeeta Dogra, daughter of veteran Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra, who was the finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir for 26 years. He was in the National Conference before joining the Congress. Despite Jaitley’s emergence as one of the BJP’s foremost leaders and his long-standing opposition to the Congress, the marriage demonstrated how political differences often remained separate from personal relationships. Jaitley served as Union finance minister before his demise; his wife Sangeeta is a philanthropist who dedicates her time to social causes. Also Read: For love & Lutyens: Haryana, the dream posting for India’s civil service power couples after marriage Haryana Congress legislator Chiranjeev Rao, son of veteran Congress leader Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, is married to Anushka Yadav, daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founders and former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. The marriage links two different and strong political families from different states that have often been political allies at the national level. Chiranjeev Rao currently serves as an All India Congress Committee (AICC) national secretary and is in charge of Rajasthan. Akshat Rao, son of Congress legislator Rao Dan Singh, married the daughter of BJP leader and Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh, Ashita, in 2017. The marriage brought together two influential political families that have often found themselves on opposite sides of Haryana’s political divide. Akshat is involved in politics and has served as the vice-president of the Haryana Youth Congress while his wife maintains a low profile and manages campaigns for her father Rao Narbir Singh. Tamanna Barala, daughter of former Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, married Nishit Kataria, son of Congress leader and former Gurugram legislator Sukhbir Singh Kataria. The wedding drew leaders from both parties. Tamanna completed her master’s degree in governance and leadership from Punjab University, Nishit is a practising criminal lawyer and serves as president of Haryana Youth Congress. Balram Jakhar, a senior Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker, was married to a cousin of former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, Rameshwari Devi, forging a family connection between the Jakhar family of the Congress and the Devi Lal-Chautala family, which became the centre of the anti-Congress and later regional politics of Haryana. Despite the close familial bond, the two leaders spent much of their political careers in rival camps, with Jakhar remaining a Congress stalwart while Devi Lal emerged as one of North India’s most prominent anti-Congress leaders. Balram served as Lok Sabha Speaker and Union Minister under the Congress party, his son Sunil Jakhar moved to the BJP and served as the Punjab chief until May 2026; his wife did not take up a political role and passed away before Balram in 2016. Aanchal Shamanur, daughter of Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, married Prashanth Shettar, son of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP Leader Jagadish Shettar. The alliance linked two prominent Karnataka political families associated with rival parties. The couple is out of politics; Aanchal is a professional architect and Prashanth is now a director at a digital software company. Also Read: The Delimitation Dilemma—What Southern politicians should be bargaining for JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, is married to Revathi, grand-niece of Congress leader M. Krishnappa. The marriage connected two influential political networks in Karnataka. Nikhil serves as the state youth president of the Janata Dal (Secular) while Revathi has remained out of politics. The son of senior Karnataka Congress leader R.V. Deshpande, Prashant Deshpande, married Avni Patel, the daughter of NCP leader and former Union minister Praful Patel, in 2006. It brought together two influential political families from different states—the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. While Deshpande remained a senior Congress leader in Karnataka, Praful Patel emerged as one of the NCP’s most prominent national faces, serving as a Union minister and later becoming a key figure in the party’s leadership Prashant works as an advocate and social worker and Anvi is an architect. Goa Cabinet minister Vishwajit Rane, son of former Congress chief minister Pratapsingh Rane, is married to BJP MLA Divya Rane. Their political trajectories eventually converged within the BJP but for years the marriage represented a significant bridge between competing political camps in Goa. Vishwajit, who began his political career with the Congress, joined the BJP in 2017. Aadesh Pratap Singh Kairon, grandson of former Congress chief minister Partap Singh Kairon, married Parneet Kaur, daughter of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal. The alliance united two families that had spent decades on opposite sides of Punjab’s political landscape. Aadesh is a four-time legislator from Punjab while Praneet is a corporate director across multiple enterprises. Former BJP leader Deepak Joshi married Pallavi Raj Saxena, a former state secretary of the Congress women’s wing, in 2025. Deepak is a three-time MLA and former Cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh under the BJP and Pallavi is still associated with the Congress. The marriage of K.R. Gowri Amma and T.V. Thomas remains one of the most remarkable political relationships in Indian history. Both were pioneering leaders of Kerala’s communist movement and were married while working together in the undivided Communist Party. However, the historic split in the communist movement in 1964 placed them in rival camps, with Gowri Amma joining the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Thomas remaining with the Communist Party of India. The political divide became so intense that the couple eventually began living separately, as party loyalties increasingly shaped their public and private lives. Despite years of estrangement, their personal bond never completely disappeared. When Thomas was diagnosed with cancer in the final years of his life, Gowri Amma put aside political differences to care for him, spending time by his side until his death in 1977. (Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya) Also Read: Indian courts are increasingly progressive in all areas except one—marriage
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