Who is Rivaba Jadeja, the new 'rockstar' in Gujarat Cabinet?

One of the biggest surprises of the massive reshuffle in the Gujarat Cabinet was the swearing in of Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, as a minister. The development marks a steady rise for 34-year-old Rivaba in the ranks of the Gujarat government after she joined the BJP in March 2019.

The wife of the star Indian all-rounder, known as 'Rockstar' for his exploits with both the bat and ball, was among 25 ministers inducted into the revamped Gujarat Cabinet. Before the 2022 elections, Rivaba had declared assets worth Rs 100 crore, making her among the richest MLAs of Gujarat.

The move to induct Rivaba, the Jamnagar North MLA, reflects the BJP's effort to bring in fresh, young faces and balance regional representation ahead of the local polls and the 2027 assembly elections.

WHO IS RIVABA JADEJA?

Born on November 2, 1990, in Rajkot, Rivaba belongs to a family that has been closely connected with social work in the city. A mechanical engineer, Rivaba aspired to become a bureaucrat, but politics soon became her calling. Her uncle, Hari Singh Solanki, has been a senior Congress leader at Rajkot.

She married Ravindra Jadeja in 2016. The couple, who run a restaurant in Rajkot, have a daughter named Nidhyana.

Before joining the BJP, Rivaba Jadeja was a member of Rajput organisation Karni Sena. She shot to the limelight in 2018 when the Karni Sena staged massive protests over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama 'Padmaavat' alleging objectionable content.

The same year, she was later appointed as the president of Karni Sena's women’s wing.

BJP INDUCTION

Amid speculation of her induction in the BJP, the star couple met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in November 2018. The next year, Rivaba had joined the BJP in March 2019.

However, despite being the wife of such a famous cricketer, she has carved out her own identity through her work towards women empowerment in Jamnagar. She founded the Matrushakti Charitable Trust, which works towards women's welfare in Rajkot.

She frequently posts videos of her visiting villages, interacting with women, and distributing sanitary napkins. Rivaba played a major role in helping open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts, a government savings scheme for girl child, in post offices. She also received a shout out from PM Modi for her initiative.

She contested her maiden elections in 2022 after being fielded by the BJP from Jamnagar North. She had big shoes to fill after the party chose her over the incumbent legislator, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, better known as Hakubha.

However, Rivaba didn't disappoint, winning by a massive margin of 40,000 votes. She received 88,835 votes. Since then, there has been no looking back and Rivaba has continued to climb the party ladder at a quick pace. She was eventually rewarded on Friday with a place in the Gujarat Cabinet.

It now remains to be seen how she fares in her new innings.