Varsha Gaikwad

Indian politician from Maharashtra

Varsha Eknath Gaikwad
Varsha Gaikwad (L) and Krishna Tirath (R) in New Delhi
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 June 2024
Preceded byPoonam Mahajan
ConstituencyMumbai North Central
President of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office
09 June 2023
National President CongressMallikarjun Kharge
Preceded byBhai Jagtap
Minister of School Education
Government of Maharashtra
In office
30 December 2019 – 29 June 2022
GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray
Dy Chief MinisterAjit Pawar
Guardian MinistersHingoli District
Preceded by
  • Balasaheb Thorat
  • Dilip Kamble
    (Guardian Ministers Hingoli)
Succeeded by
  • Eknath Shinde
  • Abdul Sattar
    (Guardian Ministers Hingoli)
Minister of Woman and Child Development
Government of Maharashtra
In office
11 November 2010 – 26 September 2014
Governor
Chief MinisterPrithviraj Chavan
Dy Chief MinisterAjit Pawar
Guardian Ministers
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
25 September 2004 – 18 June 2024
Governor
Speaker of Assembly
Preceded byEknath Gaikwad
Succeeded byVacant
ConstituencyDharavi
Minister of State Government of Maharashtra
In office
07 November 2009 – 10 November 2010
Minister
  • Medical Education
  • Higher and Technical Education
  • Tourism
  • Special Assistance
Governor
Chief MinisterAshok Chavan
Dy Chief MinisterChhagan Bhujbal
Guardian MinistersHingoli District
Personal details
Born (1975-02-03) 3 February 1975 (age 49)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
Parent
EducationM.Sc (Maths), B.Ed
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionProfessor

Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (born 3 February 1975) is an Indian politician serving as a member of parliament, Lok Sabha. She is the President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. Earlier, she was a four term Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) represented the Dharavi Assembly Constituency in Mumbai (2004-2024).[1][2][3][4] She served as the Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra from 30 December 2019 to 29 June 2022.

Gaikwad won the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. She defeated BJP candidate Adv. Ujjwal Nikam.[5] She is one of the three Buddhist MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha.[6]

Positions held

Personal life

Varsha Gaikwad's father is Eknath Gaikwad, who was a three term Member of parliament. She belongs to an Ambedkarite Buddhist family.[10][11][12][13] She was lecturer in Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai.[14]

Celebration

On the occasion of his birthday Hazrat Maula Ali Shah Dargah Trust and Muhammad Akram Khan Social Welfare Trust jointly organized an All India Mushaira on 10 February 2010 Sunday, in which BC Mumbai Congress President Kripashankar Singh, Mumbai Congress Minority Department President Nizamuddin Rain and famous Kunwar Javed, Obaid Azam Azmi, Anjum Lucknowi, Sundar Malegaonkar, Irfan Jafri, Quaiser Khalid (Joint Commissioner Mumbai Police), Alam Nizami, Lata Haya, Deepti Mishra, Mumtaz Najaz, and special guests Eknath Gaikwad (MP), Arif Naseem Khan (Minister) were present.[15]

References

  1. ^ "मोठी बातमी! काँग्रेसच्या तिसऱ्या आमदाराचा राजीनामा; अधिवेशनापूर्वीच विधानसभेतील संख्याबळ घटलं" [Big news! Resignation of the third Congress MLA; strength in the Legislative Assembly decreased before the session]. ABP Marathi (in Marathi). Mumbai. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Dharavi Maharashtra Assembly Constituency Elections". Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Gaikwad Varsha Eknath of INC WINS the Dharavi constituency Maharastra Assembly Election 2014". newsreporter.in. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Varsha Gaikwad tipped to be Mumbai Congress women's wing chief". mid-day.com. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  5. ^ https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-lok-sabha-elections-2024-congress-nominates-varsha-gaikwad-for-north-central-mumbai-seat-amid-controversy
  6. ^ https://www.dhammabharat.com/buddhist-mps-in-18th-loksabha/
  7. ^ "Minister for Women and Child Development". indianexpress.com. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  8. ^ "minister for women and child welfare Varsha Gaikwad said Sunday. The minister said the owner of the pizza outlet must be prosecuted for employing a minor and letting him drive a motorcycle without a driving licence". indianexpress.com. July 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. ^ https://marathi.abplive.com/news/politics/3rd-congress-mla-resigns-varsha-gaikwad-meets-president-rahul-narvekar-three-more-will-resigne-soon-1291552/amp
  10. ^ https://divyamarathi.bhaskar.com/news/23-ministers-belong-to-the-maratha-community-in-thackeray-government-126408482.html
  11. ^ "39-year-old Varsha Gaikwad, the Congress candidate here". indianexpress.com. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. ^ "जानिए- कौन हैं उद्धव कैबिनेट में शामिल हुईं तीन ताकतवर महिलाएं". 31 December 2019.
  13. ^ https://divyamarathi.bhaskar.com/news/maha-cabinet-expansion-first-cabinet-expansion-of-maha-government-led-by-cm-uddhav-thackeray-126407251.html
  14. ^ DHNS. "Lok Sabha polls 2024 | Face-off: Ujjwal Nikam vs Varsha Gaikwad". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  15. ^ ""प्रा. वर्षा गायकवाड के जन्मदिन के अवसर पर मुशायरे का आयोजन"" ["Organization of Mushaira on the occasion of Prof. Varsha Gaikwad's birthday"]. Aamchi Mumbai Marathi News Paper (in Marathi). p. 3.
  • v
  • t
  • e
GE 2024
  1. Gowaal Kagada Padavi
  2. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh
  3. Smita Wagh
  4. Raksha Khadse
  5. Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav
  6. Anup Dhotre
  7. Balwant Baswant Wankhade
  8. Amar Sharadrao Kale
  9. Shyamkumar Barve
  10. Nitin Gadkari
  11. Prashant Yadaorao Padole
  12. Namdeo Kirsan
  13. Pratibha Dhanorkar
  14. Sanjay Deshmukh
  15. Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar
  16. Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan (Dead)
  17. Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav
  18. Kalyan Kale
  19. Sandipanrao Bhumre
  20. Bhaskar Bhagare
  21. Rajabhau Waje
  22. Hemant Savara
  23. Suresh Mhatre
  24. Shrikant Shinde
  25. Naresh Mhaske
  26. Piyush Goyal
  27. Ravindra Waikar
  28. Sanjay Dina Patil
  29. Varsha Gaikwad
  30. Anil Desai
  31. Arvind Sawant
  32. Sunil Tatkare
  33. Shrirang Barne
  34. Murlidhar Mohol
  35. Supriya Sule
  36. Amol Kolhe
  37. Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke
  38. Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure
  39. Bajrang Manohar Sonwane
  40. Omprakash Rajenimbalkar
  41. Kalge Shivaji Bandappa
  42. Praniti Shinde
  43. Dhairyasheel Patil
  44. Vishal Patil
  45. Udayanraje Bhosale
  46. Narayan Rane
  47. Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj
  48. Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane
17th LS members
19th LS members
Members of the 18th Lok Sabha from
States
AP
AR
AS
BR
CT
GA
GJ
HR
HP
JH
KA
KL
MP
MH
ML
MN
MZ
NL
OR
PB
RJ
SK
TG
TN
TR
UP
UT
WB
Union territories
AN
CH
DH
DL
JK
LA
LD
PY