With a new sex scandal involving AAP leader Sandeep Kumar makes for material to hold debates, one can't help but look back at the never ending romance between controversies and politics. One of the prominent sex-related scandals of the country involved former Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram's son Suresh. A prominent Dalit leader who was also being seen as a prospective prime ministerial candidate in the 1970s, his son's erratic ways cost him his career.
Another popular scandal that came to light was of Congress leader Mahipal Maderna, who fancied a midwife Bhanwari Devi who appeared in a promotional video made for the government. After allegations made by her husband, investigations revealed Devi was blackmailing Maderna and party member Malkhan Singh for millions of rupees against two compromising videos she had made of them. The scandal was made into a movie called 'Dirty Politics'.
Amarmani Tripathi was an influential leader of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, and even a member of one of the Cabinets of Mulayam Singh Yadav. He was arrested in September 2003 after poet Madhumita - his paramour who was seven months pregnant at the time of her death - was gunned down at a close range in May that year. He and his wife were accused of conspiring to murdering her, and found guilty of the charge. Amarmani and his wife are currently serving the life sentence.
Another well known scandal took place in an ice-cream parlour in Kozhikode which was used as a brothel. Nearly two decades later the case is still in the court, but the details are still sketchy. Was the brothel owned by influential political leaders, or were these leaders among the high-profile "customers" there? Whatever be the case, IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty would want it gone, because his is one of the few names figured in the scandal.
The most prominent scandal, however, remains the one involving ND Tiwari, then Andhra Pradesh governor, whose physical drive was revealed in a sting operation conducted by a Telugu news channel. A video of the politician with three women in his official residence was brought to light.
Geetika Sharma was once an air hostess with the now-defunct MDLR Airlines, launched by Haryana-based politician Gopal Goyal Kanda. When she committed suicide in 2012, she left behind two suicide notes detailing harassment by Kanda. She also said he had sexual relationships with another woman, with whom the already-married Kanda also had a son. The case is still going on.
Another scandal involves the then Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Congress was left red faced when the video purportedly showing Singhvi in a compromising position with a woman advocate within the lawyers' chambers of the Supreme Court. The video, recorded by his driver in an apparent bid to blackmail him, had come out in the form of a CD, and has since been banned from publication in any form by the Delhi High Court.