Away from polls & exit polls, Cong UP in-charge Jyotiraditya Scindia lives his 'proud father' moment as son graduates from Yale

Indira Gandhi's sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi had politics in their genes. The two scions of the Nehru-Gandhi family were born to India's first and only woman Prime Minister who was the daughter of India's first-ever Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Both joined the Indian National Congress (INC) with their mother.

Sanjay, the younger son, was first expected to succeed his mother as the Congress head. However, after he died early in a plane crash, his elder brother Rajiv became the political heir of the family. Sanjay's stint with politics was a short-lived one. He contested elections for the first time in 1977, following the lifting of Emergency. However, he did not turn out victorious. In 1980, a month before his death, he was appointed the secretary general of Congress. His widow Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi are now one of the leading politicians of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rajiv, the elder son, took over the office after his mother's assassination in 1984. He served as India's 6th Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989. He was also the youngest person to take charge of PM office at the age of 40. He continued to be the Congress President until 1991 elections. In the same year, while campaigning for the elections, he was assassinated by a suicide bomber. His widow Sonia was then elected as the Congress President. Rajiv Gandhi had two children, Rahul and Priyanka.

Varun Gandhi, the son of Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi, is a part of the BJP. The 39-year-old is at present the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Sultanpur constituency. This year, he is contesting Lok Sabha elections from the Pilibhit constituency.

Rahul Gandhi, the son of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi, is the current President of the Congress party. The 48-year-old is also the chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and National Students Union of India. He is also an MP and represents the Amethi constituency. His political career kicked off in 2004 when he contested the Lok Sabha elections from his father's constituency Amethi. He won the elections again in 2009 and served till 2014. This year, he will be contesting elections from Amethi in UP and Wayanad in Kerala.

Politics is deeply rooted in the Yadav family. Former Chief Ministers of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi's sons, Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, carried forward their family baton in politics. The two joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) like their parents.

Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son, kicked off his political career in 2015 when he was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Mahua constituency. The 33-year-old served in the cabinet of Nitish Kumar-led government till 2017. He was also elected as the Environment Minister of Bihar in 2015.

Tejashwi Yadav, the second-eldest son, was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 2015 from the Raghopur constituency. The 29-year-old served as Bihar's deputy CM from 2015 to 2017.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) found two stern leaders in the Yadav family. Mulayam Singh Yadav's son, Akhilesh Yadav, is the current President of the SP. The 45-year-old served as Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister from 2012 till 2017. His political career kicked off in 2000 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj constituency through a by-election. He was re-elected in 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha and served till 2009.

2012 was an important year in his political career. This year, he became the CM of UP and the leader of SP. However, in 2017, he he lost elections from BJP's Yogi Adityanath. This year, the SP Chief is contesting elections from the Azamgarh constituency and is pitted against BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav.

Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray, is the current chief of the party. The late leader's nephew, Raj Thackeray, also served in the party till 2006.

Uddhav won the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election in 2002. Following this in 2003, he was appointed as the party chief. Under his leadership, a series of fallouts took place in the party. First, the party's former leader Narayan Rane was removed from the party. Following this, Raj Thackeray also called it quits to form his own political party named the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan first forayed in Bollywood in the film 'Miley Naa Miley Hum' in 2011. The film failed at the box office following which, the 35-year-old turned to politics. He first contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket. He won the elections from the Jamui constituency in Bihar and became an MP in the 16th Lok Sabha. Paswan has filed his nomination from the same constituency this year.

Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia's son Jyotiraditya Scindia belongs to the Scindia dynasty that once ruled Gwalior. The 48-year-old is currently the MP from Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

Scindia's political career kicked off in 2001 after his father, the then MP, passed away in a plane crash. In 2002, he contested the elections and defeated BJP's Desh Raj Singh Yadav. He was re-elected to the seat in 2004 and 2009. He was then made the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. In 2012, he was elected the Minister of State for Power. This year, he will be contesting elections again from the Guna constituency.

Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala are the third generation of Chautala family in politics. Their father, Om Prakash Chautala is Haryana's former Chief Minister and their grandfather Chaudhary Devi Lal, was the 6th Deputy Prime Minister of India. Both belong to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Ajay Singh Chautala, the elder brother, kicked off his political career in 1999 when he became the Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani. In 2004, the 58-year-old became the MP of Rajya Sabha in 2004. Later in 2009, he became the MLA from Dabwali. In 2013, he and his father were sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for illegally recruiting 3000 teachers. His elder son, Dushyant Chautala, is the current MP of Lok Sabha from Hisar.

Abhay Singh Chautala, the youngest son, who had been active in politics since school, rose to fame in 2000 when he won elections from the Haryana's Rori Assembly constituency on an INLD ticket. In 2005, the 56-year-old was chosen the President of Zila Parishad for his contribution towards the growth of educational infrastructure and continues to hold the position even today.

In 2009, he won the the by-election from Ellenabad constituency. He was re-elected to the Vidhan Sabha as MLA in 2014.

Ajay Singh's elder son Dushyant Chautala, the current MP from Hisar, is the youngest-ever member in the history of Indian Parliament. He was elected to the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and holds a place in the Limca Book of Records for this. In December last year, the 31-year-old was expelled from the INLD following which, he formed his own political party Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) first President M. Karunanidhi's two sons, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin and M. K. Muthu, joined the Indian political scene.

MK Stalin, Karunanidhi's third son is the current President of the DMK. The 66-year-old was Tamil Nadu's first-ever directly elected Mayor in 1996. In 2009, he was elected as the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Karunanidhi, in 2013 named Stalin his heir. In 2018, he was unanimously elected the party's chief.

MK Muthu, Karunanidhi's eldest son and the step brother of Stalin, was Karunanidhi's first choice of heir for the party. He joined the film industry to take on rival party AIADMK's founder. However, citing differences with his father, Muthu joined the party. In 2009, the two patched up after Muthu fell ill.

Anurag Thakur, the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, is an MP from the Hamirpur constituency. The 44-year-old is joined the BJP like his father. His stint with politics began in 2008 when he was first elected to the Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket. Thakur was elected to the Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms. He is one of the youngest Parliamentarians at present and is the current chief Whip of BJP. This year, he will be contesting elections again from the same constituency.