Sushma Swaraj – 'Rebel' without a cause

Biplob Ghosal

Sushma Swaraj, the fireband BJP leader stepped into the shoes of stalwart LK Advani in 2009 after he vacated the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Born on February 14, 1952 in Ambala, Sushma has BA and LLB degrees.

In 1977-82 and 1987-90 she served as the Member in Haryana Legislative Assembly. During 1977-79, Sushma has served multiple terms as a cabinet Minister in the Haryana government. In 1990 she was elected to Rajya Sabha, following which she had a brief stint as Delhi Chief Minister as well.

In 1996, Sushma was elected to 11th Lok Sabha for the first time and served as the cabinet minister for Information and Broadcasting from 16 May-1 June 1996.

Sushma acquired a bigger profile when she contested against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from Bellary in Karnataka. Though she lost, the contest brought Sushma to prominence. Later, when Sonia Gandhi was close to taking over as the PM in 2004, Sushma had famously declared that he would shave her head if a “foreigner” was to occupy the most powerful chair in the country. In a heavily publicised and emotionally charged episode following the 2004 elections when the Congress was set to form the government, Sushma threatened to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbollically mourning) if Sonia, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime Minister.

Sushma (58) is married to Swaraj Kaushal, a former Mizoram Governor. She sticks to her familiar wide-bordered saris plus her trademark big red bindi and sindoor and a smile that never slips, has carved a niche for herself within the saffron party by effectively presenting her views both inside and outside Parliament.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is believed to have PM ambitions and had even opposed the appointment of Narendra Modi as party's prime ministerial candidate last year. If the BJP-led NDA fails to get the magical figures in the upcoming elections, Sushma has a big chance to be named as the PM candidate who is acceptable to parties that are opposed to Modi.