Yashoda Devi (1927–2004) was the first woman to be elected from a former princely state of India as a member of a legislative assembly. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan from the

Banswara Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from king ‘Bansiya Bhil’. Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred Islands", "The Green City", which is often referred to as " Cherrap ...

constituency in 1953 as a candidate of the

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. Her success, in which she obtained 63.75 per cent of the vote, resulted from a by-election which took place due to the poll for the prior MLA being deemed illegal. In total, four women candidates contested the constituency. Yashoda Devi was born in

Nagda Nagda () is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chamba ...

in 1927. After her education at Banasthali Vidhyapeeth and Bheel Ashram in Bamania, she became a campaigner for various issues. These included activism supporting women's rights and against alcohol, as well as the campaign opposing

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. She was both chairman and general secretary of Akhil Hindu Vanwasi Mahila Panchayat. She was given the title '' Adarsh Nari'' by

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in April 2003 and died on 3 January 2004. One other woman, called Kamala Beniwal, was elected to the same assembly later during its 1952–1957 term.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Yashoda 1927 births 2004 deaths Women in Rajasthan politics Rajasthan MLAs 1952–1957 Indian women's rights activists Politicians from Ujjain Indian women activists 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Activists from Rajasthan Women members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly