Pankaja Munde

Pankaja Munde Biography

Pankaja Munde is an Indian politician from Maharashtra, belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party. She is the daughter of Late Gopinath Munde, BJP leader and former cabinet minister of Modi’s cabinet - the shortest served Cabinet minister ever in Indian history. Noted politician Pramod Mahajan was her uncle and Rahul Mahajan and Poonam Mahajan are her cousins. Dhananjay Munde is also her cousin. Pankaja has served as the state president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, a wing of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Pankaja Munde was born on 26 July 1979 to Gopinath Munde and Pradnya Munde. She has two younger siblings. Her younger sister Pritam Munde is also a politician belonging to BJP and currently a parliamentarian. The other sister’s name is Yashashari. She is married to Amit Palwe and the couple has one son. Her father died of road accident at New Delhi on 3 June 2014, a few days after he took oath as a cabinet minister. In 2011, she gifted her father a birthday present - a photobiography titled Lokneta Gopinath Munde. She was interested in writing, though later plunged into politics at her father’s behest.

After associated with student’s politics during her college days, she was closely associated with Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, where she reached the position till state president. Pankaja contested for state assembly elections from Parli constituency in 2009, where she stood as the winner and got elected to the cabinet ministry. She was given the portfolio Ministry of Rural Development, Women & Child welfare and Water Conservation. Sugar Mill Election was another prominent achievement of Pankaja which she won 18 seats out of 20, against her cousin.

Published: N/A

Updated: February 05, 2016