SUSHMA SWARAJ-
Sushma Swaraj (14 February 1952- 6 August 2019) was one of the great leaders in Lok Sabha. (Nee Sharma) Sushma Swaraj born in Haryana in the family of Hardev Sharma and Laxmi Devi. She belongs to BJP and is a veteran of electoral politics. US-based Washington Post calling her the ‘Supermom of State.’
Political uprise:
She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for seven terms and MLA for three terms. She was also the Chief Minister of Delhi for a period of time.
She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from 1987–90. In July 1977, she was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Janata Party Government headed by Chief Minister Mr. Devi Lal.
She was Education Minister, Haryana in the BJP-Lok Dal Government of Mr.Devi Lal during 1987-90.
She was judged best speaker of the Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years.
She was a cabinet minister in 1996 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power.
She retained the Information and Broadcasting ministry and had an additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications from March 19 to October 12, 1998.
Sushma serves as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi from October – December 1998.
Held the post of Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until January 2003.
Held the post of Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs from January 2003 until May 2004.
Minister of External Affairs of India (2014-2019) in the Narendra Modi government.
Political Challenges:
Sushma took on Sonia Gandhi in Bellary Lok Sabha constituency in 2004, when there was a wave against BJP in the region. Sushma offered a spirited fight but Sonia won through a very small margin of around 50,000 votes.
In 1980, 1984, and 1989, she lost the contest in the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal in Haryana. Every time, she was defeated by the Congress Party’s ChiranjiLal Sharma.
In 1999, she took on a high profile contest against the Congress party’s president, Sonia Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnataka, which had resulted in continued Congress win since India’s independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to an end with the expected loss of Sushma Gandhi coming not too far behind with 44.7 percent against 51.3 percent to vote to Congress.
1. SUSHMA SWARAJ: LIFE highlights
She was born in Ambala Cantonment in Haryana and
earned a BA degree. She studied LL.B. from the Law Department of Punjab
University, Chandigarh. She married Swaraj Kaushal on July 13, 1975, and has
one daughter.
2. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS OF BJP’S IRON LADY WHO SMASHED STEREOTYPES
A supreme court advocate by profession, she began her
political career as a student leader in the 1970s, organizing protests against
Indira Gandhi’s government. She has been associated with many social and
cultural bodies in various capacities. She was President of the Hindi Sahitya
Sammelan, Haryana for four years.
3. SUSHMA SWARAJ STARTED CAREER
Sushma Swaraj was a member of the Haryana Legislative
Assembly from 1977-82 and then from 1987-90 as a Janata Party MLA in Mr. Devi
Lal’s government. She was the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment
(1977-1979).
4. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS OF SUSHMA SWARAJ
Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987-1990). She was judged best speaker of the Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years. She joined the BJP in 1980.
5. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS (parliament)
She was elected as a member of Rajya Sabha in 1990. In
1996, she was elected in the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union
Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. She was re-elected in 12th Lok Sabha for
a 2nd term in 1998. Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the
Information and Broadcasting ministry and had an additional charge of the
Ministry of Telecommunications from March 19-October 12, 1998.
6. CAREER Journey
Sushma left the Union Cabinet from October – December
1998 to serve as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. The BJP lost the
assembly elections, and she returned to national politics. In 1999, she
took on a high profile contest against the Congress party’s president, Sonia
Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnataka, which had returned Congress
winners since India’s independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to
an end with the expected loss of Sushma Swaraj and Sonia Gandhi polled 51.7
percent of the votes. Sushma Swaraj was not too far behind with 44.7 percent.
7. return to parliament
Sushma returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya
Sabha member from Uttarakhand. She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000
until January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and
Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
She held these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National
Democratic Alliance government lost elections.
8. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha. Became Minister of External Affairs of India (2014-2019) in the Narendra Modi government. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top contenders to be party president of the BJP, following Advani’s resignation from that role in late 2005. Rajnath Singh ultimately was elected for that post.
How well do you know Sushma Swaraj?
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she won’t
contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, owing to health issues. “It is the
party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest the next (Lok
Sabha) elections,” …
Sushma Swaraj, who is known for her engaging social
media presence, seems to be always a tweet away for people in need. She is
known for not just instructing her staff on using Twitter, but also for
interacting with her followers. For helping Indians across the world, she was
applauded by both national and international media, with the US-based
Washington Post calling her the ‘Supermom of State.’
Here are incidences of quick action:
In 2015, she helped to rescue 168 Indians trapped in
Iraq by acting on a video that was tweeted to her. A woman in Yemen, who
was married to an Indian, asked for safe evacuation and tweeted a photo of her
8-month-old baby. Swaraj jumped in to help.
When Twitter user Geeta Sharma wished Sushma Swaraj
“Happy Sunday Ji” with a tweet, Swaraj replied, “Geeta – There is no Sunday for
my dear. It’s a happy working day.”
She also aided a man who was stuck in the US without a
passport and was supposed to return for his wedding.
Life Events of Sushma Swaraj:
Swaraj was born in 1952 in the Ambala district in
Haryana. Her father, Hardev Sharma, was a prominent RSS member.
She got married to Swaraj Kaushal, erstwhile Governor
of Mizoram and a Supreme Court lawyer. Swaraj has been active in politics
since the Emergency. She has been elected as a Member of Parliament seven
times.
At the age of 25, she became the youngest cabinet
member in the Haryana Government. Within a span of two years, she became the
president of the Janata Party in Haryana. Sushma Swaraj is the second
woman to hold the office of foreign minister after former Prime Minister,
Indira Gandhi.
In 2014, Sushma Swaraj was elected from Vidisha Lok
Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh. She won the elections by a margin of more
than four lakh votes. Sushma Swaraj has held various portfolios in the
Union Cabinet like Minister for Information and Broadcasting;
Telecommunications, Health, and External Affairs. She also served as the Chief
Minister of Delhi for a period.
She also became known for her ready wit when she
exchanged banter with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during parliament
sessions. After Swaraj announced her decision to withdraw from contesting next
year, her wit was again evident in this gracious exchange with Congress MP
Shashi Tharoor.