Madurai girl, now defence minister

Nirmala joined the BJP in 2006 and had gradually been gaining in popularity. Known for her fierce speech in TV channels, she was appointed as one of the BJP spokespersons, when Nitin Gadkari was BJP president in 2010.  Earlier, she was serving as a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) from 2003 to 2005. Finally, she got the ministerial berth in 2014 in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. 

Nirmala had battled on in TV channels for Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister. She was also elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh. She is currently the Rajya Sabha MP representing Karnataka and is also holding additional post of Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. 

Speaking to DT Next, H Raja, national secretary, BJP, said “Sitharaman’s elevation is a good indication that the Centre has been focusing on Tamil Nadu.” Meanwhile, RSS congratulated those inducted into or elevated in the Cabinet and reserved special praise for Nirmala.