Raksha Khadse: Rover MP And Her Journey Of Inheriting Politics (image: twitter.com/khadseraksha)

As a parliamentarian, Raksha Nikhil Khadse”s contribution to the constituency over the years has earned her the title Tai, which means “elder sister” in Marathi. In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the incumbent BJP MP is seeking her third term from Maharashtra”s Rover Lok Sabha constituency.

She began her political career as Sarpanch (President) of the Kothali Gram Panchayat. Raksha Khadse has served as a member of Jalgaon Zilla Parishad and Sabhapati (Chairperson) of the Health, Education, & Sports Committee, Jalgaon Zilla Parishad, before venturing into the Lok Sabha polls.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Raksha Khadse defeated NCP candidate Manish Jain by 3,18,068 votes. When she got elected for the first time, Raksha Khadse was just 26-years old. Raksha Khadse and Heena Gavit were the two youngest parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha at that time. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Khadse retained the seat by defeating the Congress candidate Dr. Ulhas Patil by a margin of 335,882 votes.

Raksha Khadse is the daughter-in law of Eknath Khadse, a veteran politician (then with the BJP, now with the NCP) from Maharashtra. Raksha Khadse”s life turned upside down when her husband, Nikhil Khadse, committed suicide in 2013. Nikhil took his life by shooting himself in the head. At that time, Raksha was just 25 years old and a mother of two children.

Nikhil had also tried hands at politics and contested unsuccessfully in the legislative council elections. He was a member of the Jalgaon Zilla Parishad. Raksha Khadse overcame the shock and disbelief from the personal tragedy by investing more time in social work and by being active in the political field. Her works focused on women”s empowerment, tackling water shortages in the constituency,  improving the quality of education, and the advancement of roads.