7 Women MPs in Modi's Council of Ministers

BANGALORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indeed given a big thumb up to female leaders in his administration and thus kept his promise of women empowerment. While women may account just 11 per cent of all Lower House members, they have indeed fared better when it came to representation in the Cabinet—a welcome change from the previous governments. Taking this occasion, let us have a look at the 7 women Cabinet Ministers in the newly formed government, as listed by Yahoo.

Sushma Swaraj:  A seasoned politician Sushma Swaraj became India’s first woman External Affairs Minister. Apart from having the distinction of becoming the youngest cabinet minister in Haryana government at the age of 25, Swaraj has also many other firsts, such as being the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi and woman spokesperson for any political party in the country. Besides MEA, She has also been given the charge of Overseas Indian Affairs.

Swaraj is assuming the charge of the Foreign Ministry, one of the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet, at a time when India’s growing international influence gives it a prominent voice in global affairs even as issues in the region keep the largest democracy busy. A law graduate who practiced in the Supreme Court, Swaraj has been elected seven times as a Member of Parliament and three times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

Najma Heptulla: BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, Najma Heptulla took charge as the Minister of Minority Affairs in Narendra Modi's cabinet.  She is probably one of the few candidates in the minority category to have secured a cabinet berth. Heptulla is the eldest minister in the cabinet.
The only Muslim leader in the Narendra Modi cabinet, Heptullah has travelled extensively to various parts of the world representing India at international conferences including those related to the Commonwealth and the international parliamentary union.

Heptullah has emerged as a prominent Muslim face of the BJP over the years, articulating its viewpoint inside and outside parliament. She was once a prominent Congress member in the Upper House. She moved to the BJP in 2004 from the Congress after differences with the top leadership.

Smriti Irani: From contesting the Miss India beauty pageant, to becoming the country's most sought after TV 'bahu', and sworn in as a minister in the newly formed government, 38 year old Smriti Irani's life has been a saga of meteoric rise to fame and success. The youngest Minister among the Council of Ministers, Irani has been handed the crucial portfolio of human resource development.
"I had never dreamt that I would get a chance to serve the nation and I thank the prime minister for giving me this opportunity," she said.
As BJP’s candidate from Congress bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where she took on Rahul Gandhi, Irani fought one of the most high profile electoral contests of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. She lost but by putting up an impressive fights that brings Gandhi’s margin of victory to just over a lakh.
Maneka Gandhi: Animal-rights activist and environmentalist, Maneka Gandhi made a comeback to the union cabinet as the Minister of Women and Child Development. She is the only member of the Gandhi family in the BJP-led government.
The seven-time MP and younger daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi was also in the council of ministers during the previous NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the first Animal Welfare Minister of the country.

In just-concluded Lok Sabha election, Maneka won from the Pilibhit constituency by a margin of over 3 lakh votes. 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. Though Maneka Gandhi was part of the NDA government under Vajpayee, she joined BJP officially only in 2004.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal: The Akali Dal MP from Bathinda, Minister of Food Processing (48), Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the only woman from an ally to be sworn-in as a cabinet minister. She has emerged as a powerful leader of Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in the last five years after she was first elected MP in 2009.
Wife of Punjab's powerful Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Harsimrat have tried to carve her own space in politics and social work. She has been vociferous in Lok Sabha debates since 2009. Before winning the Bathinda seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when she defeated former chief minister Amarinder Singh's son Raninder Singh by 1.2 lakh votes, she had led a quiet family life with her three children in New Delhi.

Nirmala Sitharaman: BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman is another woman MP who is a part of the cabinet as Commerce and Industry Minister. 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.
As Commerce and Industry Minister, Sitharaman indicated that foreign players will not be allowed to open mega stores in the country as it may adversely impact the small traders and farmers.

"At this stage, the party position is very clear. We have explained about FDI in multi-brand retail that it probably is not best opened up now because medium and small sized traders or small farmers have not been adequately empowered if you open up the flood gates of FDI in MBR, it may affect them," she said.

Uma Bharti: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti is one such strong women political leader in the country. She has been assigned as the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. A firebrand leader and Hindutva mascot, Uma Bharti has always hogged the limelight in her political career.
This is the second time that the saffron clad leader, often referred to as 'sadhvi', has become a Union minister in an NDA government. Bharti came to prominence during the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi movement. She had served as Minister both in the state of Madhya Pradesh and as Union Minister in the Cabinet.