When Dahod’s BJP MLA Kanaiyalal Kishori tied the knot on Sunday, it wasn’t just a wedding—it was a full-blown public service announcement on patience, perseverance, and planning. After ten years of gentle (and probably not-so-gentle) persuasion, Kishori finally convinced his family to bless his marriage to Sumitra, the woman he had quietly admired for years.
Now 42, Kishori had chosen to remain single all this time, standing firm on marrying only his ladylove rather than settling for a politically expedient alliance.
The couple was married at a group wedding ceremony alongside three other pairs, thanks to arrangements made with the Bhil Samaj Panchayat (Dahod, Panchmahal, Mahisagar) and the Birsa Munda Trust. Even Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel showed up—proof that nothing draws a crowd like a political wedding with a social message.
Hailing from Bhathiwada, Kishori explained that he had known his love for a long time. “Sumitra belongs to a family with a humble background, and they are only two sisters in the family. I used to guide them and help them from time to time as they were from my village and we were in public life. Later, I started liking her and decided to make her my life partner,” he shared, blending romance with civic duty like a true public servant.
The delay in marriage? Blame tradition. Kishori’s family had their doubts, thanks to tribal customs that take things like surnames, native places, and star alignments very seriously—if not confusingly. These traditions are still followed, he noted, possibly with the sigh of a man who’s had this conversation too many times.
But Kishori waited. “I wanted to ensure that my family agreed and we got their blessings. It is common these days to marry the person of your choice by going against the wish of your family, but I didn’t want to do that,” he said, proving that political negotiation skills work at home too.
Once the family gave their green light, Kishori took the unusual step of turning his long-awaited marriage into a shared celebration. The panchayat and trust were already in touch with me for their activities, so he asked them to organise a group wedding. Anyone else ready to tie the knot could join in, he said. He footed the bill himself—a rare kind of campaign finance.
Besides giving love a patient path, Kishori had another goal: to inspire a culture shift. He said he didn’t relate to the culture of many tribal people in the state spending beyond their limits and taking loans for weddings.
So, it took ten years, a lot of tradition-wrangling, and a crowd of four couples, but MLA Kishori finally got his happily ever after—and maybe sparked a budget-conscious wedding trend while he was at it.
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