Sharmistha Mukherjee (born 30 October 1965) is an Indian

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dancer, choreographer and politician of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

Early life and education

Born in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, Mukherjee grew up in Delhi and was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Her father was

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

, who was the 13th President of the Republic of India.

Dance career

Mukherjee began formal dance training at age 12. Her teachers included Pandit Durgalal, Vidushi Uma Sharma and Rajendra Gangani. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' called her performances "accomplished" and lauded her precise footwork.

Politics

Sharmistha joined the INC in July 2014. Since then she has been actively participating in rallies organized by the party and working at the grass root level with the party workers in her area. She contested the Delhi Assembly election in February 2015 from the

Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...

constituency but lost, coming third with 6,102 votes after

Saurabh Bharadwaj Saurabh Bharadwaj is an Indian politician from the Aam Aadmi Party, representing Greater Kailash constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Governm ...

( AAP, 57,589 votes) and Rakesh Gullaiya (

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

, 43,006 votes). Sharmishta Pujo

References

Women in Delhi politics Indian National Congress politicians from Delhi 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Dancers from Delhi Kathak exponents Indian female classical dancers Performers of Indian classical dance 21st-century Indian women artists Children of presidents of India Women artists from Delhi 21st-century Indian dancers 1965 births Living people {{Delhi-INC-politician-stub