Mumbai, June 6 (IANS): Maharashtra-born BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan has become the fourth from the state to occupy the prestigious post of Lok Sabha speaker.
Born Sumitra Sathe in the picturesque Chiplun, in coastal Ratnagiri, she has created a record of getting elected for eight consecutive terms to Lok Sabha from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
Mahajan moved and settled in Indore after her marriage with Jayant Mahajan (now deceased). The couple had two sons.
Prior to her, Shiv Sena senior leader Manohar Joshi, also from Konkan region, served as Lok Sabha speaker between May 2002 and June 2004 during the earlier NDA regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Congress's Shivraj Patil of Latur (Marathwada region) was speaker between July 1991 and May 1996 during the P.V. Narasimha Rao government's term.
The first speaker of the Lok Sabha (May 1952-February 1956) was the legendary G.V. Mavalankar. He was born at Baroda in the then Bombay State, but his family hailed from Mavalange region of Ratnagiri district.
Mahajan, who also served as union minister of state for human resource, communications and petroleum in the past, is the only female leader who has won eight consecutive Lok Sabha elections from a single constituency since 1989.
Holding a masters and a law degree from Indore University, Mahajan has beaten the record earlier held by Mamata Banerjee, now West Bengal chief minister, who was elected seven times.
Mahajan also becomes the second woman Lok Sabha speaker after Meira Kumar, who held the post in the previous Lok Sabha.