Ambassador car still runs for a few leaders in race to LS election

Once the most preferred vehicle for political class in India, the good-old Ambassador still finds a place among the prized possessions of a few leaders in race to find their way to the 16th Lok Sabha.

Along with 'Amby', as the country's oldest car brand is commonly known as, there is also humble Maruti-800, as also the all-time sturdy Bullet and now-forgotten Rajdoot bikes that remain in possession of some Lok Sabha candidates.

Taking the collections of vehicles to an all-together different level, a few have also declared mopeds, scooters and even bicycles as vehicles owned by them or their family members.

Those having declared 'Ambassador' in their asset-sheet include mostly leaders from Congress and BJP, while a few others from regional parties are also in that league.

From BJP, the Amby-owners include former party President Nitin Gadkari, former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain, film star-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha and the party's Darjeeling candidate S S Ahluwalia.

Among Congress leaders, Union Minister Kamal Nath, as also at least two party candidates from Delhi -- J P Agarwal and Ramesh Kumar, have Ambassador cars in their lists.

Others with Ambassadors include J~~amp;amp;K National Panthers Party candidate from Udhampur Prof Bhim Singh, JD-U candidate from Jhanjharpur (Bihar) Davendra Prasad Yadav and RJD's Karakat candidate Kanti Singh.

Interestingly, Ambassador's journey almost equals that of the Indian democracy and the brand almost became synonymous with the power-class in the country.

The car brand was launched by Hindustan Motors in 1957 -- within years of the first elections held in the country during 1951-52. Hindustan Motors itself was set up as the country's first car market in 1942, just a few years before Independence.

Ambassador remained the preferred vehicle for politicians, bureaucrats and other ruling-class members for years and it enjoyed an almost-monopoly till 80s, when other brands began coming in.

While the brand remains in existence even now, it considerably lost its edge on roads in 90s. But the company has been trying hard in the past few years to relaunch the brand to reclaim its lost glory.

While Ambassador in possession of most of the Lok Sabha aspirants are quite old, Kamal Nath purchased this car in December 2012. Bhim Singh, however, says that his Ambassador car was "not in order", while similar was the case with a bike owned by him. Singh also owns a Tempo Traveler, named 'Bhim Rath'.