After working for over a decade in multinational companies in Delhi, Malvika Mudgal, an MBA graduate and Public Policy expert, left her well paying job and luxurious city life to work for the people in rural Rajasthan. For 34 year old Malvika, it was challenging to build a new life in one of the most backward assemblies of the state, Rajakhera. When she lost her father, Ashok Sharma last year, her world fell apart.
“I decided to carry forward my father’s dream of empowering the people of Rajakhera. As a daughter, he always supported me in everything. Inspired by his vision, I am now using the strength of my education and global experience to bridge the developmental gaps in Rajakhera,” shared Malvika. Sharma was an influential politician in the region for Congress before shifting to the BJP. For over 3 decades, he worked for the empowerment of the locals across the Dholpur district. In 2018, he contested from the BJP in Rajakhera and lost the elections by 14,000 votes to Rohit Bohra of Congress. After his sudden demise, Malvika and her brother Dushyant Ashok Sharma took up the reins of honouring their father’s legacy. Dushyant worked in the corporate sector for over 6 years before he returned to Rajakhera to support his father in the constituency.
Malvika is leveraging her public policy and development sector experience in uplifting the village. She along with her brother, Dushyant is on a mission to transform Rajakhera which is listed under NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme. In her new innings as a politician, she has taken significant steps independently to change the face of Rajakhera within one year. “When I came to Rajakhera, it felt like the country had progressed ahead while the people here were stuck decades behind. What Rajakhera needs is disruptive change, leaders with vision and impeccable implementation of government policies. My brother and I realise that we have an uphill task ahead of us, but our combined strength can perhaps change the face of Rajakhera in 5 years,” said Malvika.
This village despite being only an hour drive away from the capital city of Agra is cut off from basic facilities in many ways. Through her extensive community outreach, she creates awareness on issues related to basic infrastructure, water, health, education, financial inclusion & skill development and agriculture. “The best part of my meetings are the youth and women. They treat me as their family and share their problems with me. Basic infrastructure is so poor that there are life threatening incidents happening which are further leading to dangerous diseases in the village. Not only this, there are no medical facilities and people are being treated under the trees which calls for an emergency intervention. Together, we try to advocate for similar issues and find solutions,” informed Malvika.
Malvika is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aspirant for the assembly elections that are due later this year. So far, she has covered 30 panchayats and pushed her ghar-gharjansamparkkaryakram out of 46 panchayats and 32 wards of Rajakhera. As one of the leading women candidates from Rajakhera assembly, Malvika also undertook a detailed research study to identify development challenges related to basic development needs in the city.
“It is a unique study which documents experiences of locals who have been made aware of their basic rights and introduced to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social welfare schemes,” she claimed. In light of the “Transformation of Aspirational Districts” program launched by the Prime Minister which aims to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country, Dholpur is one among the 5 identified districts of Rajasthan.
