BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia’s palaces, museums and posh complexes have a royal history

• Leaving behind 18 year old ties with the Indian National Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday (March 11).
  
• Scindia owns properties worth ₹297 crore — including the ancestral Jai Vilas Mahal in Gwalior and duplex in Samudra Mahal, Mumbai.
  
• Built in 1874, the palace was valued at ₹1 crore back then — and costs over ₹4,000 crore today.
  
• The Scindia family own two properties in Samudra Mahal, one of which is rented out to the Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor. The two highrises of 27-storeys each are valued at ₹125,000 per square feet.

Leaving behind 18 year old ties with the Indian National Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday (March 11). His resignation turned out to be a turbulence in the Congress government — triggering resignations from 22 other MLAs in Madhya Pradesh.

Scindia who hails from a family of royals is not a stranger to riches. He owns properties worth ₹297 crore — including the ancestral Jai Vilas Mahal in Gwalior and duplex in Samudra Mahal, Mumbai. The Jai Vilas Palace, which was built by the last maharaja of Gwalior Jivajirao Scindia spans across 40 acres. The mahal has over 400 rooms and a museum wing as well.

Built in 1874, the palace was valued at ₹1 crore back then — and costs over ₹4,000 crore today.

The mahal has a dining room fitted with a train track on the table, which serves brandy and cigars in a silver train. In fact, the Darbar Hall, which is the main attraction of the Palace, has two chandeliers weighing 3,500 kgs each — making it the largest in the world.

The two chandeliers lighten up the hall with over 250 bulbs. It is also said that eight elephants were suspended from the roof embellished with gold to check if it was capable of bearing the weight of these chandeliers.

But, that is not all.

The Scindia family own two properties in Samudra Mahal in Mumbai including a terrace flat, one of which was rented out to the Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor. The two highrises of 27-storeys each are valued at ₹125,000 per square feet — among the highest in the world and offering all possible luxuries.

Because of its unique design, each of the duplex offers an eyeful of the vast Arabian Sea outside.

Other residents of the posh complex include Akshata Narayan of Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, Vedanta Group head Prateek Agarwal, Motilal Oswal Group's joint-MD Raamdeo Agrawal, The Xander Group founder-chairman Siddharth Yog, Famous Studios chief A K Roongta.

Scindia’s family has been into politics ever since his grandmother, Vijayaraje Scindia joined politics in 1957 — winning a seat from the Congress Party.

See also:
Jyotiraditya Scindia joins BJP and says his dreams were shattered in Congress