New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) It was a twist of fate that thrust Raksha Khadse, the three-term Lok Sabha member from Raver in north Maharashtra, into the rough and tumble of national politics.

Raksha Khadse, 37, the daughter-in-law of former BJP leader Eknath Khadse, started her political innings as a sarpanch of Kothali village in the state's Jalgaon district in 2010, the native place of the family.

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The death by suicide of her husband Nikhil in 2013 after a loss in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election by a whisker to NCP leader Manish Jain prompted her to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Raver in 2014.

Raksha Khadse, then a 26-year-old, won the Raver Lok Sabha seat against NCP candidate Manish Jain, avenging her husband's defeat.

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The young leader hit the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign trail with her two children, a sight that appealed to voters and led to her victory by a margin of more than three lakh votes.

In the 2019 general elections, Raksha Khadse increased her margin to 3.35 lakh votes, and she won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 2.72 lakh votes against NCP nominee Shriram Patil.

Raksha Khadse hails from the influential Leva Patil community of north Maharashtra.

"It is a matter of happiness that the party has given me a great responsibility. It will be my endeavour to work with dedication for the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Khadse said.

Khadse has a B.Sc degree in computer science and has been associated with several social welfare projects.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)