MARCH

Point
Out
» VASUNDHARA RAJE
Chief Minister, Rajasthan
Scion of Scindia family of
Gwalior, she was born to
Vijayaraje Scindia and Jivajirao
Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior.
She has been elected as Chief Minister
of Rajasthan for the second time after
she led BJP to a landslide win in the
November 2013 assembly elections.
She was sworn in as the first woman
Chief Minister of the Rajasthan on
December 8, 2003. During her tenure
as the Chief Minister, she worked
tirelessly for the development of state, and focused heavily on an
all-encompassing development with special focus on women.
» MAMATA BANERJEE
Chief Minister, West Bengal
as she is popularly called
is the first woman to become
Chief Minister of West
‘Didi’
Bengal. Mamata Banerjee
has achieved the once considered
impossible mission of routing the
Left party in its stronghold. She single
handedly ensured the defeat of world’s
longest-serving democraticallyelected
communist government,
that ruled Bengal for 34 years. Often
dubbed a ‘maverick’ politician, for her
uncompromising and rigid stand, Mamata started her political
career with Indian National Congress and went on to form her
own party –the Trinmool Congress 1997. She has also served as
a Minister of Railways twice, Minister of Coal, and Minister of
State for Human Resource Development, Department of Youth
Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development.
» JAYALALITHAA JAYARAM
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Chief minister of Tamil Nadu
and chief of All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(AIADMK), J Jayalalithaa is
aiming to take a potshot at the post of
Prime Minister, an ambition she and
her supporters have been nurturing
for long. Known as ‘Amma’ (Mother)
and ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ (revolutionary
leader) by her followers she has thrice
been the Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu. She has already been in national
limelight when she supported the NDA government and dictated
terms as a key ally before walking out of the alliance.
» UMA BHARTI
BJP Vice-President
A
firebrand
Tikamgarh-born
leader,
Uma
Bharti has been a Union
minister and a former
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Bharti is among the few political
leaders who have great oratory skills
and connects with masses. She is
among the few BJP leaders who can
be credited for the growth of the
party during its Ram Movement
days. It was late Rajmata Vijayaraje
Scindia who initiated Uma Bharti into politics. She contested
her first Parliamentary elections in 1984, and lost. In 1989, she
successfully contested the Khajurao seat, and retained it in 1991,
1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
» MAYAWATI
BSP supremo
F
or
teacher-turned Behenji—
dalits are her votebank and she
admits to it publically. Mayawati,
who started with late Kanshiram
mobilizing dalits in the 1980s and
early 1990s has today emerged as
their biggest leader. She heads the
Bahujan Samaj Party. She has been
chief minister of - UP- for four terms.
With Mayawati around controversies
cannot be far away. Whether in
government or not she has remained
a controversial figure and has faced several charge of corruption
and irregularities. However, she had weathered the storm and has
emerged strong everytime.
» BRINDA KARAT
CPI (M) Politburo member
A
communist leader, elected to the
Rajya Sabha, she became the first
woman member of the Communist
Party of India (M) politburo.
Born in Kolkata, Brinda, studied at the
elite Welham Girls School in Dehradun
and later completed her BA degree at
Miranda House, a college affiliated to the
Delhi University. After graduation she left
for London, where she worked with Air
India— country’s national airlines. At Air
India, she campaigned against mandatory
wearing of skirts instead of traditional sarees, till the management agreed
to it. Thereafter, she never looked back and returned to India and took up
issues concerning the common people.
16
MARCH 2014