Lakshmi Ravindra Hebbalkar (born 28 May 1975) is an Indian politician from

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. She is currently serving as the Minister of Women and Child Development, and Disabled and Senior Citizens Empowerment in the Government of Karnataka. As a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, she is an elected member of the

Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...

from Belagavi Rural.

Personal life

Lakshmi Hebbalkar was born in Chikka Hattiholi, a village in Khanapur taluk of

Belagavi district Belagavi district, formerly also known as Belgaum district, is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The district is known as the sugar bowl of Karnataka with hectares being used for commercial production. It has overtaken Mandya distri ...

, into an agricultural family. She belongs to the Lingayats Sect. She is one of five siblings. She married agriculturist-businessman Ravindra Hebbalkar and joined the Congress party in 2004. She holds a master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from Mysore University.

Political career

Hebbalkar held the position of general secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee for a brief period before being asked to head the Belagavi District pradesh Congress Committee in 2010 as its first woman president. She unsuccessfully contested from the Belgavi (Rural) Vidhan Sabha seat in 2013, and then from

Belagavi Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

Lok Sabha seat in 2014. In 2015, she was appointed the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee women's wing president. In the legislative assembly election that followed, she defeated

Sanjay Patil Sanjay Balaso Patil is an Indian people, Indian Politician from the state of Karnataka. He is a two term member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Constituency He represents the Belgaum Rural (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Belgaum Rural const ...

of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and was elected as a legislator first time, while contesting from the same constituency. Hebbalkar was quizzed for two days by

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

in September 2019 in connection with a probe into a

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

case. Hebbalkar was reelected to the assembly in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and was appointed the Minister of Women and Child Development as part of the Siddaramaiah ministry.

Current Role and Achievements

* Appointment as Minister of Women and Child Development in the Karnataka government. * Impact and responsibilities in the current role.

References

External links

Election Watch Candidate Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebbalkar, Lakshmi Living people United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka People from Belagavi district India MPs 2014–2019 21st-century Indian women politicians 1975 births Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Karnataka MLAs 2023–2028