Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers will have seven women Ministers, two less than the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) Government and three less than UPA I.
Sushma Swaraj: An articulate speaker who can speak in chaste Hindi as well as English with equally felicity, she is the daughter of a RSS worker Hardev Sharma. Swaraj began her political career with RSS student wing ABVP in the 1970s and was Member of the Haryana Assembly from 1977 to 1982 from Ambala Cantonment. She was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in Devi lal Government as the youngest Minister in the rank. She became Janata Party’s State president in Haryana at the age of 27 and went on to become Education Minister in the BJP-lok Dal coalition Government during 1987-90. later, she entered Rajya Sabha and was subsequently elected to the 11th lok Sabha from South Delhi constituency in 1996. She was Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government in 1996. She resigned from the Cabinet in the next Vajpayee regime to take over as the first female Chief Minister of Delhi in October 1998. Swaraj had contested against Sonia Gandhi from Bellary in 1999 but lost by over 56,000 votes.
S Najma Heptullah: Once a prominent Congress member in the Rajya Sabha, she left the party in 2004 due to strained relationships with party leaders for her close association with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-headed NDA Government and joined the BJP. Heptullah was reelected to the Upper House five times between 1986 and 2012, was elected to a one-year term as the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 1985, and she again served in that post from late 1988 to mid-2004. She was fielded by the party as a candidate for the post of vice-president against the UPA nominee, Hamid Ansari but lost the election.
later, she was appointed as one of the 13 vice-presidents of the party, when Nitin Gadkari was the party president. An eminent writer, Heptullah has published research papers in foreign and Indian journals on women issues.
Uma Bharti: Hindutva mascot, saffron clad-Uma Bharti became a Union Minister in an NDA Government for the second time. Raised by Vijaya Raje Scindia of Gwalior, 55-year-old Bharti, who is a former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, became part of BJP at a very young age. While she fought her first electoral battle in 1984, her first electoral victory in lok Sabha polls came in 1989 when she won from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, which she retained in 1991, 1996 and 1998. In 1999, she switched constituencies and won the Bhopal seat. In the Vajpayee-led Government, she held various portfolios including that of Human Resource Development, Tourism, Youth Affairs and Sports.A member of the UP legislative Assembly, this time Bharti contested from Jhansi in UP and defeated her nearest rival from Samajwadi Party by a margin of nearly two lakh votes. Actively involved in the ‘Ramjanmabhoomi’ movement, she has been named in the liberhan Commission report on the demolition of the Babri mosque at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
Maneka Gandhi: The seven-time MP and younger daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi joined active politics after the death of her husband Sanjay Gandhi in an air crash in 1980 and floated her own political outfit in March 1983 after she fell-out with her mother-in-law. However, she had lost the 1984 lok Sabha elections from Amethi and lost to former Prime Minister and her brother-in-law Rajiv Gandhi. Though Maneka Gandhi was part of the NDA Government under Vajpayee, she joined BJP officially only in 2004. In just-concluded lok Sabha election, Maneka won from the Pilibhit constituency by a margin of over three lakh votes.
Maneka’s face-off with the former Health Minister CP Thakur is the most significant in her profile as a politician. Thakur, a trained physician and scientist, was pitted against Gandhi when she opposed scientific experiments on animals. Gandhi is known for her devotion to animal rights, and as Animal Welfare Minister, took on Thakur over research on animals.
Smriti Irani: Having acquired fame as Tulsi in a ‘saas-bahu’ soap opera, Irani continued to be in spotlight when she switched over from TV to politics. In the last decade, she has fought two tough electoral battles- against Congress heavyweight Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk in Delhi in 2004 where she lost and in 2014 from Congress bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where she took on Rahul but lost. A former national president of BJP’s women's wing, Irani also holds the position of vice-president in the party. Irani was born in Delhi and had her education in the national capital before she shifted to Mumbai and became a household name after showing off her acting prowess on small screen.
Nirmala Sitharaman: Another articulate BJP spokesperson, she is seen communicating the views of the party during TV debates. She is liked due to her sincere approach and also the fact she does her best to reply to all questions thrown at her. Not a member of either lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha presently, she is likely to be nominated to the Upper House by BJP. Born in Tamil Nadu and married into an Andhra family, the 59-year-old joined BJP even though her in-laws have had an association with Congress. She is also a former member of National Commission for Women.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Daughter-in-law of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Kaur is a prominent face of Akali Dal. Belonging to the powerful political family of Punjab, she was elected for the second time from Bhatinda in the 2014 lok Sabha elections after defeating her husband Sukhbir Badal's cousin Manpreet Singh Badal.
Born in a family that traces its roots to Attar Singh Majithia, a prominent General in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army, 47-year-old Harsimrat graduated from Delhi University and pursued textile designing for three years after college. A mother of two daughters and one son, Harsimrat has also been at the forefront of an initiative ‘Nanhi Chhan’ which aims to protect the girl child.