Shabana Azmi
Here is an actress who has always been vocal about her social contribution – so much so that it was considered a publicity gimmick in the initial days. Since 1989, Shabana has been an active member of the National Integration Council, headed by the Prime Minister of India. She was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1997.
Jaya Bachchan
With the kind of girl-next-door roles that she did in
her films, one would not have expected Jaya to join politics. But the proximity
of the Bachchan family with the Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh gave her the
chance to become an MP in 2010. One touching moment of her political career was
when she was seen in tears in the Parliament, condemning the inadequate safety
measures after the Delhi gang rape case.
Hema Malini
The ‘dream girl’ of Indian cinema started her
political career back in 2003 when she was nominated as a member of the
Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After formally joining the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) in 2004, she now holds the post of general secretary. For 2014 Lok
Sabha elections, she has filed her nomination from
Jaya Prada
Two years after joining the Telugu Desam Party in 1994, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. But In 2002, Jaya Prada was denied a second term in the Upper House and consequently left TDP. She joined the Samajwadi Party and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) for 2004-2009. After being expelled from the SP for supporting Amar Singh, she has joined Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and is contesting from Bijnor in 2014 elections.
Kirron Kher
She joined the BJP in 2009 and has been a star campaigner for the party since then. But after supporting Anna Hazare in his anti-corruption movement, Kher had been openly criticising the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claiming that the party was formed for political reasons and the movement is better off in a non-political form. She is contesting the 2014 elections from her hometown Chandigarh.
Smriti Irani
Known to be the most powerful bahu of Indian television, Irani joined the BJP in 2003. Although she lost the Chandni Chowk seat to Kapil Sibal in 2004 elections, she has held quite a few significant positions in the party and was made the president of the women’s cell in 2010. In 2014 general elections, she is contesting against the INC vice-president Rahul Gandhi from his incumbent seat in Amethi.
Jayalalithaa
Probably the woman with the most successful political career, Jayalalithaa has been the chief minister of Tamil Nadu three times. One of the most influential female leaders in the country today, she started her political career in 1984, supported by M.G. Ramachandran, and became the CM of Tamil Nadu in 1991 after the assassination of the alliance party leader Rajiv Gandhi gave her a sympathy boost in the polls. Since then, she has held the seat for two more times, once losing out to DMK in 1996. In 2001, she became the CM for less than six months because of being convicted in some criminal acts. However, after being cleared of the charges, she resumed her post in March 2002. She was again elected as the CM in 2011, a seat she holds till date.
