Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar, Former BJP Women's Wing Chief, Appointed As NCW Chairperson

The Centre on Saturday appointed Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar, former BJP Mahila Morcha chief and former Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, as the new chairperson of the National Commission for Women.

The appointment, made under Section 3 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, will be for a period of three years or until she reaches the age of 65, whichever comes earlier, a government notification confirmed.

In addition to the appointment of Rahatkar, the government has also named new members to the NCW. Dr Archana Majumdar has been officially appointed as a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) for a tenure of three years, as per a notification from the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Who Is Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar?

Vijaya Rahatkar, currently National Secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party and Co-Incharge of the party’s Rajasthan unit, has served across several ranks within the party for the last few decades.

Being considered as one of the leading politicians of the BJP, Rahatkar completed her Bachelor’s degree in Science with a major in Physics and a Postgraduate Degree in History, both from Pune University.

Rahatkar hails from the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. With no political background, she joined the BJP in 1995 as a booth worker and gradually rose to the ranks and contributed to strengthening the party’s electoral prospects.

She was the elected member of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation from the year 2000 to 2010; and was also elected as the Mayor of Aurangabad from 2007 to 2010, from General and Open Category.

She was also the Vice-President of the National Mayors’ Council and President of Maharashtra Mayors’ Council during her tenure as Mayor. She has also been the National General Secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha for two terms from 2010 to 2014 before she became the National President of BJP Mahila Morcha in 2014.