<p>Grand-niece of eminent freedom fighter Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Najma Heptullah is the lone Muslim face in the Narendra Modi Cabinet.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Once a prominent Congress member in the Rajya Sabha, she left the party in 2004 due to a strain in relationship with top party leaders for her close association with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-headed NDA Government and joined the BJP.<br /><br />Heptullah, who was reelected to the Upper House five times between 1986 and 2012, was elected to a one-year term as the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 1985, and she again served in that post from late 1988 to mid-2004.<br /><br />Rising quickly in the BJP leadership, she was fielded by the party as a candidate for the post of Vice President against the UPA nominee, Hamid Ansari. She, however, lost the election.<br /><br />When Nitin Gadkari became the President of the BJP in 2010, she was appointed as one of the 13 vice presidents of the party.<br /><br />She had almost lost prominence in the BJP when Rajnath Singh became new chief of the party.<br /><br />Heptullah was dropped from the post of BJP vice president and was made a member of the party's national executive.<br /><br />An eminent writer, Heptullah has published several research papers in foreign and Indian journals and also contributed to many Indian and foreign magazines on issues relating to women and social development.<br /><br />74-year-old Heptullah, has also worked as a member of the Advisory Committee and Editorial Board of 'The Indian Journal of Zoology' and 'Journal of Anatomy'.<br /><br />Born in Bhopal, she is married and has three daughters.<br /><br />She holds both a Masters' of Science Degree in Zoology, and a Ph.D. in Cardiac Anatomy from the University of Denver.</p>
<p>Grand-niece of eminent freedom fighter Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Najma Heptullah is the lone Muslim face in the Narendra Modi Cabinet.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Once a prominent Congress member in the Rajya Sabha, she left the party in 2004 due to a strain in relationship with top party leaders for her close association with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-headed NDA Government and joined the BJP.<br /><br />Heptullah, who was reelected to the Upper House five times between 1986 and 2012, was elected to a one-year term as the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 1985, and she again served in that post from late 1988 to mid-2004.<br /><br />Rising quickly in the BJP leadership, she was fielded by the party as a candidate for the post of Vice President against the UPA nominee, Hamid Ansari. She, however, lost the election.<br /><br />When Nitin Gadkari became the President of the BJP in 2010, she was appointed as one of the 13 vice presidents of the party.<br /><br />She had almost lost prominence in the BJP when Rajnath Singh became new chief of the party.<br /><br />Heptullah was dropped from the post of BJP vice president and was made a member of the party's national executive.<br /><br />An eminent writer, Heptullah has published several research papers in foreign and Indian journals and also contributed to many Indian and foreign magazines on issues relating to women and social development.<br /><br />74-year-old Heptullah, has also worked as a member of the Advisory Committee and Editorial Board of 'The Indian Journal of Zoology' and 'Journal of Anatomy'.<br /><br />Born in Bhopal, she is married and has three daughters.<br /><br />She holds both a Masters' of Science Degree in Zoology, and a Ph.D. in Cardiac Anatomy from the University of Denver.</p>