Sushma Kharakwal | |
|---|---|
| 5th mayor of Lucknow | |
| Assumed office 26 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Sanyukta Bhatia |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Profession | Politician |
Sushma Kharakwal is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh. She is currently serving as the mayor of Lucknow Municipal Corporation from 26 May 2023. [1] [2] [3]
She won the mayoral elections held in May 2023 representing the Bharatiya Janata Party which held the post for over three decades. [4] [5]
Kharakwal is from Uttarakhand but settled in Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh. She is a Pahadi Brahmin and her husband,Prem Kharakwal,is a retired havaldar from Indian army. Together,they have two sons,Manish and Mayank. She did her graduation at a college affiliated with Srinagar Garhwal University,Uttarakhand. [6] She is a BJP worker for 30 years. [7] She served as the president of the Avadh region Mahila Morcha and was also a member of the Sainik Welfare Board and Railway Users Advisory Committee. [8]
Kharakwal represented the BJP and won the mayoral election defeating her nearest rival Vandana Mishra of the Samajwadi Party by a margin of 20,414 votes. She polled 335,035 votes. She won in 80 of the 110 wards. [9] Due to differences with the BJP corporators,she arranged a Holi get together in March 2025 to reconcile with her own party corporators. [10]
In January 2025,she made a controversial statement that 2 lakh Bangladeshis have entered Lucknow. Congress councillor Mukesh Singh Chauhan questioned her statement and demanded clarity on certain points. [11] In August 2024,she allegedly threatened to throw the officials of the Municipal Corporation into the dirty drains,if they failed to keep them clean. [12] In August 2023,she allegedly attempted to enter the ICU of a private hospital without removing her foot wear and entered into an argument with the hospital staff. Later,the hospital denied that such an incident took place. [13]