Najma Heptulla

Najma Heptulla Biography

Dr. Najma Heptulla is an Indian politician and the vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party at present. She was a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan from July 2004 to July 2010. She was nominated by the BJP for the upper house in 2012 from MP and she assumed her office on 24 April 2012. She is the grand-niece of great Indian political leader and freedom fighter, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. She is also a second cousin of popular Bollywood actor Aamir Khan. She contested as BJP Candidate in Vice President Elections held at August 2007. But she lost to Hamid Ansari by 233 votes. She joined BJP in 2004.

Najma was born in Bhopal on 13 April 1940. She holds Masters' Degree in Zoology and Ph.D. in Cardiac Anatomy from the University of Denver. She was an active member of Indian National Congress during 1980’s till early 2000’s and has held many top positions. She was the General Secretary of Congress during 1986 with the additional responsibility of youth activities of the All India Congress Committee and the NSUI. She has been one of the powerful candidates of Indian National Congress and has been elected to Rajya Sabha four times. She has been a member of the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra for four terms at 1980, 1986, 1992 and 1998.

Najma was the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha from January 1985 to January 1986 and from 1988 to July 2004. She has been nominated to head the Indian Council of Cultural Affairs. In 1993, she presided over women parliamentarians' group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and was the founder president of the parliamentarians' forum for human development. In 1996, she was elected as President of Inter-Parliamentary Union and held the post till 2002. Heptulla joined Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004 and according to media reports it was due to her strained relationship with Sonia Gandhi.

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Updated: June 18, 2014