Samarjitsinh Gaekwad

Samarjitsinh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad (born 25 April 1967) is a cricket administrator and former first-class cricketer. Gaekwad is a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of the princely state of Baroda in India.

Early life and family Samarjitsinh was born on 25 April 1967 as the only son of Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad and Shubhanginiraje.

After the death of his father in May 2012, Samarjitsinh was "crowned" in a traditional ceremony at Laxmi Vilas Palace on 22 June 2012. He settled a 23-year-long legal inheritance dispute worth more than (~ 3 billion in 2013) with his uncle Sangramsinh Gaekwad in 2013. Through the deal, Samarjitsinh secured ownership of Laxmi Vilas Palace, over of real estate near the palace including Moti Bagh Stadium and Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, several paintings by Raja Ravi Varma as well as movable assets belonging to Fatehsinghrao such as gold, silver and royal jewelry. He also obtained control of temples trust that operates 17 temples in Gujarat and in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh.

Personal life Since 2002, Samarjitsinh is married to Radhikaraje, who is a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of Wankaner State; the couple has two daughters. The four of them, along with Shubhanginiraje, live in the Laxmi Vilas Palace, which is the largest private residence in India. He opened a section of the palace complex as a banquet facility for private ceremonies under his Laxmi Vilas Banquets venture.

Samarjitsinh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in November 2014, but is inactive in politics as of 2017. He later became a cricket administrator and served as the president of the Baroda Cricket Association. As of 2015, he runs a cricket academy at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Apart from cricket, he played golf and built a 10-hole golf course and clubhouse at the Laxmi Vilas Palace complex.