Although India is a patriarchal society, it has a fair share of women politicians who command power and respect among the masses of this country. With its skewed sex ratio and a bias towards the female population it is a remarkable achievement that these women have achieved in the field of politics. Culturally and socially, there is a bias for women in our society and we can see that these women are commanding the lives of millions of people across the country.

Here is a list of top 10 powerful women politicians.

1) Mayawati tops our list as the number one contender. She is undoubtedly the numero uno in Indian politics. She has served as U.P. chief minister 3 times and is currently serving the 4th term. She proclaims herself to be the messiah of the Dalits as she herself is the first Dalit woman to hold the Chief Minister’s post in the most populous state of India. She has written a book where she has compared herself with Mughal emperor Babur and Queen Victoria. She has pronounced authoritarian tendencies.

2) Sonia Gandhi comes second in our list. She is currently the chairperson for UPA, the political alliance in power. She is believed to be taking all the important decisions of the government. She is well known across the country and is the most respected person in the Congress Party. But to her disadvantage she has promoted a culture of sycophancy in the congress party.

3) Mamta Banerjee, the current Chief Minister of West Bengal, is third in our list. She is well known for her mood swings and her likings for protests. She successfully wiped out one of the longest serving bastions of communism in the world. She has a very clean and sober image.

4) Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, is the fourth most powerful women in Indian politics. She has also served as Delhi’s CM. She threatened to shave her head and lead the life of a Sadhvi, if Sonia Gandhi became the PM.

5) Jayalalithaa comes fifth in this list. She is currently the CM of Tamil Nadu. She is well known for her whimsical decisions and capricious manners. She has well fought against her tough male opponents and has come back to power.

Team MSN She