Sushila Kerketta

Sushila Kerketta Biography

Sushila Kerketta was an Indian politician and parliamentarian from the state of Jharkhand. She has been a member of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha from 1985 to 2000 and also in Lok sabha from Khunti constituency during 2004-2009. She was a member of the Indian National Congress. She was a teacher by profession before joining politics and she lived during the period, 27 April 1939 – 19 October 2009. A three-term MLA she has also served as a cabinet minister of Bihar. She was the minister of Irrigation (Independent Charge) during 1985-88, Rural Development, Food and Civil Supply during 1988-89 and Mines and Geology during 1989-1990.

Sushila Kerketta was born on 27 April 1939 in Ranchi, Bihar. Now her birthplace belongs to Jharkhand. Prabhudayal Marki and Maini Marki were her parents. Her higher education was completed in Ranchi where she took Master’s degree and started her professional career as a teacher. She married Nottrot Kerketta in 1970 and had 5 children. While she was a teacher she was also involved with social activities, which later paved way to politics.

As a social worker she visited rural villages and promoted handlooms. She was interested in sports such as archery, football and hockey events. During her younger days she was a hockey player. She joined politics in mid-1980s and got elected to state assembly of Bihar for the first time in 1985. She retained the seat for the next two state assembly elections thus serving as an MLA for long 15 years. She also held different portfolios within Congress led state government at different points of times. In 2004 she turned a parliamentarian. She passed away on 19 December 2009 following a heart attack at the age of 70.

Published: February 27, 2019

Updated: February 27, 2019