# Vasundhara Raje

Vasundhara Raje Scindia (born 8 March 1953) is an Indian politician, who has held two terms as the chief minister of Rajasthan. She was previously a minister in the Union Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and was India's first Minister of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries, now known as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. In 2003, she became the first woman to serve as the Chief Minister for the state of Rajasthan. She is currently one of the national vice presidents of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A member of the Scindia family, she is also the matriarch of the Bamraulia family of Dholpur.

## Early life

Vasundhara Raje singh was born on 8 March 1953 in Bombay (now Mumbai). She is the daughter of Vijayaraje Scindia-Shinde and Jivajirao Scindia-Shinde, Maharaja of Gwalior, members of the prominent Scindia royal Maratha family.
Raje completed her school education at Presentation Convent School in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and later graduated with economics and political science degrees from the Sophia College for Women, Mumbai.

## Personal life

She married Maharaj Rana Hemant Singh, of the royal family of Dholpur on 17 November 1972, but they separated a year later. Her son, Kunwar Dushyant Singh, was elected to the Lok Sabha from her former constituency, Jhalawar. Her siblings are Yashodhara Raje Scindia, a former industries minister of Madhya Pradesh, the late Madhavrao Scindia, the late Padmavati Raje "Akkasaheb" Burman (1942–64), who married Kirit Deb Burman, the last ruling Maharaja of Tripura, and Usha Raje Rana (b. 1943) who married into the Rana family of Nepal.

## Children

She has one son Dushyant Singh, who is a four-time member of Parliament through Loksabha and the Yuvraj of Dholpur.

## Political career

In 1984, Raje entered the Indian political system. Initially, she was made a member of the national executive of the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party. She was also elected as a member of the 8th Rajasthan Assembly from Dholpur. In the same year, she was appointed vice president of the Yuva Morcha, Rajasthan BJP.

### Member of legislative assembly

* 1985-90 member, 8th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Dholpur.
* 2003-08 member, 12th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
* 2008–13, 13th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
* 2013–18, member, 14th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
* 2018–23, member, 15th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
* 2023-28, member,16th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan

### Member of parliament

* 1989-91: member, 9th Lok Sabha, from Jhalawar.
* 1991-96: member, 10th Lok Sabha
* 1996-98: member, 11th Lok Sabha
* 1998-99: member, 12th Lok Sabha
* 1999-2003: member, 13th Lok Sabha

### Positions held

* 1985-87: vice-president, Yuva Morcha BJP, Rajasthan
* 1987: vice-president, BJP, Rajasthan
* 1990-91: member, Library Committee, member, Consultative Committee, Ministries of Commerce and Tourism
* 1991-96: member, Consultative Committees, Ministries of Power, Science and Technology, Environment and Tourism
* 1996-97: member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, Member, Consultative Committees, Ministries of Power, Science and Technology and Tourism
* 1997-1998: joint secretary, BJP Parliamentary Party
* 1998-99: Union minister of state, External Affairs
* 13 October 1999 – 31 August 2001: Union minister of state (Independent Charge), Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries; Department of Personnel and Training; Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space
* 1 September 2001 – 1 November 2001: Union minister of state, Small Scale Industries; Personnel, Training, Pensions, Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances; Department of Atomic Energy; and Department of Space (Independent charge)
* 2 November 2001- 8 December 2003: Union minister of state, Small Scale Industries; Personnel, Training, Pensions, Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances; Planning; Department of Atomic Energy; and Department of Space (Independent Charge)
* 14 Nov 2002-14 Dec 2003 : president, BJP, Rajasthan
* 8 December 2003 – 8 December 2008: chief minister, Rajasthan
* 2 January 2009 – 8 December 2013: leader of opposition, Rajasthan legislative assembly
* 8 December 2013 – 11 December 2018: chief minister, Rajasthan
* 11 January 2019: national vice president of Bharatiya Janata Party

## Works

* Vasundhara Raje, Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra
* Vasundhara Raje, Bhamashah Yojana
* Satyam Kumar and Vasundhara Raje, iStart Rajasthan
* Vasundhara Raje, Jal Swavlamban
* See More Schemes of Vasundhara Raje

## Achievements

In 2007, she received the "Women Together Award" from the UNO for services rendered towards the self-empowerment of women.
In 2018, she received the 'Best Chief Minister of the Year' Award at the 52nd Skoch Summit.

## Book

A book on the life of Vasundhara Raje named Vasundhara Raje aur Vikasit Rajasthan was written by the historian Vijay Nahar and published by Prabhat Prakashan.