Satyavathi Rathod (born 31 October 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the Minister for Tribal Welfare, Women and Child Welfare of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...

since 2019. She is the first tribal woman to serve as a Minister in Telangana. She is a member of the

Telangana Legislative Council The Telangana Legislative Council or Telangana Saasana Mandali is the upper house of the Telangana Legislature of the Indian state of Telangana; the lower house being the Telangana Legislative Assembly. It is situated in the state capital of ...

from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Rathod previously represented the

Dornakal Dornakal is one of the largest town in Mahabubabad district of Telangana, India. The town is important as a Railway Junction where a branch line emanates to Manuguru and Bhadrachalam Road and is also on the Vijayawada - Warangal - Secunderabad ...

constituency in the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsana Sabha is the lower house of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of 175 members which are elected by adult universal suffrage under the first- ...

in 2009 from the

Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has f ...

Early and personal life

Satyavathi Rathod was born on 31 October 1969 in Pedda Thanda hamlet in Kuravi mandal of present-day Mahabubabad district,

(at the time part of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

). The youngest among five siblings, her parents are Lingya Naik and Dasmi Bhai. After Class VIII, Rathod dropped out of school and was married to Govind Rathod. He died in a road accident in July 2009. She has two sons. Rathod later obtained her degree from an

open university The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

Career

Rathod began her political career in 1989. She joined the

and contested from the

constituency the same year but lost to

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

candidate Redya Naik. In 1995, she was elected as the

Sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

of Gundratimadugu. Later in 2006, she won the Zila Parishad of

Narsimhulapet Narsimhulapet is a village and Mandal headquarter in Mahabubabad district (also called Manukota) of the state of Telangana, India. Narsimhulapet is named after a temple of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy built during the Kakatiya dynasty. Narsimhulape ...

. In the

2009 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election The United Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election of 2009 took place in April 2009, concurrently with the 2009 Indian general election. The elections were held in the state in the first phase (2009-04-16) and the second phase (2009-04-23) ...

, Rathod was elected as an MLA from the Dornakal constituency. In March 2014, she quit the Telugu Desam Party and joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. She re-contested from the same seat in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, losing again to Redya Naik of Congress. She did not contest in the 2018 assembly election. In March 2019, she was elected as a member of the

. In September 2019, Rathod took oath as Minister of ST Welfare, Women and Child Welfare in the Second cabinet of K. Chandrashekar Rao. She became the first woman from a

scheduled tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

to serve as a minister in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathod, Satyavathi Living people 1969 births Telangana politicians Telangana Rashtra Samithi politicians Members of the Telangana Legislative Council State cabinet ministers of Telangana Women state cabinet ministers of India Women members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Women in Telangana politics 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians