Know the Story of a Single Mother Who Won Hat-trick In Indian Politics (Image:instagram@rakshe.khadse)

As the results of the election 2024 subside, Raksha Khadse BJP’s three-time MP from the Raver Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra was on Sunday sworn in as a Minister of state in the Narendra Modi-led government. The electoral journey and political resilience of Raksha Khadse are quite impressive and inspiring. Her husband Nikhil Khadse died by suicide in 2013, and she began her political career as a sarpanch of her village Kothadi and later as a member of the Jalgon zila parishad.

Born in Khetia village in Maharashtra, Khadse comes from the Leva Patil agrarian community, which has been categorised as Other Backward Class (OBC). She represents the Raver Lok Sabha seat in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.

Her political journey was started by getting the help of her father-in-law Eknath Khadse, an NCP leader of the Sharad Pawar faction. Reports say that the bond between father-in-law and daughter-in-law and his constant support paved the way for her to become a union minister in the long run.

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She was successful in politics which led her to acquire the seat of an MP in 2014 at the age of 26 and she continued winning the same seat three times. Her photos with her two children in her arms became a social media hit that created momentum highlighting her ability to balance both her personal life and her political career down the line.

In the 2019 election, she got re-elected as MP of Raver Lok Sabha for the second time and was named for third term by the  BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election which resulted in her third term success in Indian politics.

She mentioned that her father-in-law has always helped her seize opportunities and achieve great success, rather than just following his footprints. “I never worked for any post or position. Today I am really happy that PM Narendra Modi honoured me by giving me a ministerial position,” she said during the oath ceremony.

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Being a single mother, she had gone through a lot of kerfuffle but she managed to be strong and patient, as her endurance and optimism helped the way to achieve a hattrick success. She is passionate about women’s empowerment and child education and ponders on child labour and related matters that need to be completely eradicated from the country.