Subhashini Ali
Subhasini Ali (born 29 December 1947) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). She is the President of the All India Democratic Women's Association and former Member of Parliament from Kanpur. Early life and education. Subhashini Ali is the daughter of Colonel Prem Sehgal and Captain Lakshmi Sehgal (née Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan) who were a part of the Indian National Army. She attended Welham Girls' School in Dehradun. She did her bachelor's degree from Women's Christian College in Madras and later did her Masters from the Kanpur University . She was formerly married to filmmaker Muzaffar Ali. Her son is Shaad Ali, a film maker who has directed films such as Saathiya, Bunty aur Babli and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. She is communist, Ali is an atheist, and her son is also atheist. Ali's son Shaad to marry Shahzneen Hussian who divorced him later. Political career. As a trade Unionist and leader of the All India Democratic Women's Association, she was once very influential in the politics of Kanpur where the Communist Party of India (CPI) held sway over trade unions and which elected CPI-supported S.M. Banerjee  to Lok Sabha four times from 1957 to 1971. This influence of CPI helped her win the General elections of 1989 to the parliament and she defeated her nearest rival BJP candidate by 56,587 votes from Kanpur. The CPI influence waned after the emergency in 1977 and she lost the General elections of 1996 by 151,090 votes. She finished at the fifth place in the General elections of 2004 polling only 4558 votes (0.74%). She fought the General elections of 2014 from Barrackpore as a CPI(M) candidate but lost. She is currently a member of the Central Committee of the  Communist Party of India (Marxist). She was inducted to the polit bureau (PB) of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 2015 thereby becoming the second women member in PB after Brinda Karat. Films. Subhashini Ali designed period costumes for 1981 classic, Umrao Jaan, directed by her then-husband Muzaffar Ali. She also dabbles in amateur acting, and her first starring role was in Asoka in 2001, followed by an English feature, The Guru, in 2002, and was seen again in 2005, with her fellow party member, Brinda Karat in the film Amu. She inspired the film Anjuman (1986) directed by  Muzaffar Ali with her struggles in Kanpur with the AIDWA. See also. Swaminathan family