Who Is Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar? Female leaders in Modi Cabinet Expansion

Dr Bharati Pawar will be one of the seven women out of the 43 leaders to be part of Prime minister Modi’s reshuffled Cabinet.

Dr Pawar was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Dindori in the 2019 Indian General Election as the Member of Parliament from the ruling party, BJP. Dindora is a Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. She has been awarded the Best Women Parliamentarian in December 2019. The 43-year-old doctor turned politician completed her MBBS degree in 2002 from NDMVP’s Medical College, Pune University. Dr Pawar is also a medical practitioner and farmer.

Dr Pawar is the second daughter-in-law of eight-time MLA and ex-minister A.T Pawar. Reportedly, Dr Pawar left Rashtrawadi Congress due to internal conflicts and became a prominent member of the BJP.

Doctor Turned Politician, Dr Bharati’s Journey Into Politics

Dr Pawar started her political career as a member of the Zilla Parishad. In May 2019, Dr Pawar climbed up the ranks and got elected in 17th Lok Sabha. Since then, she is a member of the standing committee on health and Family Welfare.

She also secures membership on the committee on Petitions and Consultative Committee, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Dr Pawar has worked to eradicate malnutrition in the country. As a young politician, she worked very hard to provide clean drinking water in the Nashik district.

Dr Pawar is the only women Maharashtrian MP in Modi’s new Cabinet. The place was also speculated to be taken by the late Gopinath Munde’s Daughter, Pritam Munde, however, finally Dr Pawar was selected.

Other Women In The Modified Cabinet

The reshuffle exercise is reportedly the first of its kind in Prime Minister Modi’s second term since 2019. The aim was to introduce and involve more representation from marginal communities, principally women and Scheduled Castes members. Meenakshi Lekhi, Anupriya Singh Patel, and Shobha Karandlaje are also among the newly appointed women cabinet ministers. BJP’s Sunita Duggal is expecting a portfolio and is the only woman MP from Haryana.

Feature Image Credit: The New Indian Express