# Rakhi Pancholi

Rakhi Pancholi (born 16 August 1977) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Whitemud. Born to Tanzanian and Indian parents, she is a lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on education law.
On 8 February 2024, Pancholi announced that she was running for Leader of the Alberta NDP. On June 24, 2024, the new leader of the New Democratic Party, Naheed Nenshi, appointed Pancholi as the Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party.

## Education

Pancholi completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta, majoring in history and political science. She studied law at the University of Toronto, with a focus on Constitutional Law.

## Career

Pancholi was a practising lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on labour/employment and education law. She has experience working with the Alberta School Boards Association and was a senior legislative consultant for Alberta Education.
Pancholi helped to establish LEAF's "No Means No" (NMN) program in 2007 which focused on youth and sexual assault issues. Between 2008 and 2013, she worked for the Alberta government in the Alberta Education Department. During that time she led the drafting the Education Act. Pancholi also worked for Alberta school boards.
In 2019, Pancholi entered politics and was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Edmonton-Whitemud.

## Personal life

Pancholi has two young children with her husband Owen. They have two rescue dogs, and they are both advocates for animal rescue and adoption.

## Electoral history
### 2023 general election

vte2023 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Rakhi Pancholi | 12,797 | 60.40 | +11.22 |
| | United Conservative | Raj Sherman | 7,799 | 36.81 | -2.63 |
| | Liberal | Donna Wilson | 370 | 1.75 | – |
| | Green | Cheri Hawley | 221 | 1.04 | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 21,187 | 99.29 | – |
| Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | 152 | 0.71 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,339 | 64.65 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 33,005 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +6.92 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta |||||||

### 2019 general election

vte2019 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Rakhi Pancholi | 11,373 | 49.18% | -8.27% |
| | United Conservative | Elisabeth Hughes | 9,120 | 39.44% | 0.86% |
| | Alberta Party | Jonathan Dai | 2,335 | 10.10% | – |
| | Freedom Conservative | Jason Norris | 297 | 1.28% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 23,125 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 63 | 76 | 18 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 32,810 | 70.73% | 10.33% |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | -7.75% |
| Source(s) Source: "46 - Edmonton-Whitemud, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 180–183. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021. |||||||