After the Independence of the country, the princely states that were part of the Central India Agency came together to form a union called Madhya Bharat. Jiwajirao Scindia who was the head of the Gwalior state at that point in time was appointed the first Rajpramukh (governor) of Madhya Bharat. Later in 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged with the states of Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal state to form Madhya Pradesh. Consisting of a large number of erstwhile princely states, the royal families in this region have continued to exercise their authority since the days of Madhya Bharat. Perhaps the most powerful among them are the Scindias of Gwalior whose involvement and success in politics goes back to the days immediately following the birth of an independent India. Moreover, the Scindias are also spread out across parties and states. Similar influence can also be found among the Raghogarh royals. There are others like the Rewa and Raigarh royal families whose former heads were successful politicians, but currently the scions have maintained distance from active politics.