Pragya Singh Thakur

Pragya Singh Thakur Biography

Pragya Singh Thakur is a controversial political leader associated with Bharatiya Janata Party. Very often her statements invited wraths from many sections of the society. Currently she is a Member of Parliament representing Bhopal. During her college days she was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and later with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party. She is accused of the 2008 Malegaon bombings, which took 10 lives and injured 82 others. She was arrested on terror charges too, and the case is now under trial. In 2019 general elections, she defeated Digvijaya Singh of the Indian National Congress, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to join parliament for the first time.

Pragya Singh Thakur was born on 2 February 1970 in Dhatiya district, Madhya Pradesh. Her full name is Pragya Chandrapal Singh Thakur. Her father was an Ayurvedic practitioner in Bhind, and an RSS worker. She has been a tomboy since her childhood and loved riding bikes. Later she was arrested on terror charges after her bike was found to be used in the bomb blast of 2008 Malegaon bombings. She was given criminal charge on Terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and now she is out on a bail on health grounds.

She joined Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad during her college days in 1993. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 17 April 2019 just before general elections. She has always promoted Hindutva ideology, and some of her statements during election campaign of 2019 general elections invited a lot of controversies. However she also received a lot of media coverage for the same reason, and won her first Lok Sabha seat too.

Published: January 05, 2020

Updated: January 05, 2020