Some Popular Women in Indian Politics

The number of popular women in Indian Politics and Public life is very much less compared to the number of men.
Mrs.Indira Gandhi:- Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the first and the only Woman Prime Minister of India. Born as the only daughter of Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister and Freedom fighter of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was very popular not only in India, but also at the international level.Mrs.Sonia Gandhi:- Mrs.Sonia Gandhi is the present leader of the Congress Party in India and the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Mr.Rajiv Gandhi. She also serves as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha. Sonia Gandhi was born on December 9, 1947, in the small village of Orbassano, near Turin, Italy. But for the controversy about the citizenship of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, she would have become the second woman Prime Minister of India.

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004 and was ranked 6th in 2007. She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007 and 2008.
Ms.Mayawati Kumari:- Ms.Mayawati Naina Kumari is the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the present Chief Minister of India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh. Ms.Mayawati Kumari was born on January 15, 1956, in Delhi.

Ms. Mayawati holds a Bachelor of Education degree and was a Teacher in Delhi until joining full time politics in 1984. Mayawati Kumari is the highest income tax payer among all politicians in India paying Rs. 26 crore for year 2007-08.

Mrs.Sheila Dikshit:- Mrs.Sheila Dikshit is the Chief Minister of Delhi since 1998. She is from the Indian National Congress. She is the second woman Chief Minister of Delhi.

Mrs.Sheila Dikshit was born on March 31, 1938, in Kapurthala, Punjab. She was married into the family of Shri Umashankar Dikshit, noted freedom fighter and a former Governor and Union Cabinet Minister. Her late husband Shri Vinod Dikshit was a widely respected member of the Indian Administrative Service.Ms.Mamata Banerjee:- Ms. Mamata Banerjee is a Indian politician from the State of West Bengal. She is the founder and chief executive of the All India Trinamool Congress Party, now known as the Trinamool Congress Party.

Ms.Mamata Banerjee was born on January 5, 1955 in Kolkata. She started her political career with Congress(I), and she became one of India’s youngest parliamentarians ever, beating veteran Communist statesman Somnath Chatterjee, for the Jadavpur seat in West Bengal. She also became the General-Secretary of the All India Youth Congress. She won the Kolkata South seat in the 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 elections.

Ms.Mamata Banerjee split the Congress Party in West Bengal and established the All India Trinamool Congress. In 2000, she joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and was allocated the Railways Ministry.

Mrs.Pratibha Patil:- Mrs.Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the first woman President of India. Mrs.Pratibha was sworn in as President of India on July 25, 2007. She won the presidential election held on July 19, 2007 defeating her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by over 3,00,000 votes.

Mrs.Pratibha Patil was born on December 19, 1934 in Nadgaon village of Jalgaon District, Maharashtra. Pratibha completed her M.A. from Mooljee Jaitha College, Jalgaon and then obtained a law degree from the Government Law College.
Mrs.Pratibha Patil began political career in 1962 at the age of 27 by the guidance of senior Congress leader and ex-Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan.

Ms.J.Jayalalitha :- Ms.Jayalalitha Jayaram or J. Jayalalitha is a former Chief Minister and current leader of the opposition of the Government of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party in the state. She is popularly called Amma (mother) and Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader) by her followers. She was a popular film star in Tamil cinema before her entry into politics. Ms.Jayalalitha was born on February 24, 1948 in Mysore.

Ms.Vasundhara Raje Scindia:- Ms.Vasundhara Raje is the ex-Chief Minister of Rajasthan state of India from December 2003 till December 2008. She is the first woman Chief Minister of Rajasthan. She is from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Ms.Vasundhara Raje was born on March 8, 1953 in Mumbai. She is daughter of Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia and Jivaji Rao Scindia of Gwalior, members of the prominent Scindia royal family.
Ms.Sushma Swaraj:- Ms. Sushma Swaraj is a former union cabinet minister of India. She is also a former chief minister of Delhi. She is one of the most prominent female politicians within the Bharatiya Janata Party; currently the chairperson of the party’s 19 member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. Ms.Sushma Swaraj was born on February 14, 1952 in Ambala Cantt,Haryana.