Vasundhara Raje

Vasundhara Raje (born March 8, 1953, Bombay [now Mumbai], India) is an Indian politician and government official, who rose to become a senior leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She twice served (2003–08 and 2013–18) as the chief minister (head of government) of Rajasthan state in northwestern India.

Raje was born into the wealthy Scindia (Sindhia) royal family, former rulers of Gwalior (now in Madhya Pradesh state). Her father, Jivajirao Scindia, died when she was young. She derived much inspiration from her mother, Vijayaraje (or Vijaya Raje) Scindia, who was a senior leader in both the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS; Indian People’s Association) and the BJP, the successor of the BJS. Raje’s older brother, Madhavrao Scindia, was also a prominent politician—though of the rival Indian National Congress (Congress Party)—before his death in 2001. Raje completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Sophia College for Women (affiliated with the University of Mumbai) in Mumbai.

In 1972 Raje married Hemant Singh, head of the Dhaulpur (Dholpur) princely family in Rajasthan. The two separated soon after the birth of a son, but she remained in Rajasthan. Raje began her political career in 1984 as a member of the National Executive of the relatively young BJP (established 1980) and rose steadily within the party hierarchy. In 1985 she was appointed vice president of the BJP’s youth wing in Rajasthan, and two years later she became vice president of the party’s state unit. She served in 1997–98 as joint secretary of the BJP membership in parliament and in 2002–03 as president of the party’s Rajasthan unit.

Raje first ran for elected office in 1985, winning a seat in the Rajasthan state legislative assembly. Four years later, however, she shifted her focus to national politics and was elected to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament) in 1989. She was reelected to that body four more times, ending her tenure there in 2003. Raje received several appointments during the period (1998–2004) that the BJP controlled the national government, including minister of state for external affairs (1998–99) and for the Department of Atomic Energy (1999–2003).

In 2003 Raje returned to Rajasthan state politics and led the BJP to a strong electoral victory (120 out of 200 seats) in the legislative assembly. The party formed a government, with Raje appointed chief minister, the first woman to occupy that position in Rajasthan. Her term in office (2003–08) was marked by a strong focus on improving the state’s infrastructure (notably constructing more roads, canals, and power stations) and various social initiatives (including greater educational opportunities for the state’s youth). In recognition of her work toward empowering women in the state—especially by promoting self-help groups and facilitating the establishment of microcredit programs—the United Nations gave her its Women Together Award in 2007.

The five-year period of BJP rule in the state, however, was also marked by incidents of caste violence (notably in 2007 and 2008) and by the opposition of local leaders (particularly from the Gurjar [or Gurjjar] and Meena castes) to Raje’s firm style of governing. Those issues gradually weakened the BJP’s hold over voters belonging to those castes and contributed to the party’s poor performance in the 2008 state assembly elections. The BJP’s seat total was reduced to 78, and the Congress Party was able to form a coalition government.

Raje retained her seat in the assembly, and for most of the succeeding five years she was the leader of the opposition there—the only significant break being in 2010–11, when she served as the BJP’s general secretary. She was again chosen to lead the BJP campaign when it contested for the December 2013 state assembly polls. The party won by a landslide, capturing 163 seats, and Raje began her second term as chief minister. In the 2018 elections the BJP lost control of the assembly and her chief ministership ended, though she retained her seat.

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