Varsha Gaikwad

{{Short description|Indian politician from Maharashtra}}

{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=August 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Varsha Eknath Gaikwad

| image = The Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Maharashtra, Prof. Varsha Gaikwad calls on the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath, in New Delhi.jpg

| caption = Varsha Gaikwad (L) and Krishna Tirath (R) in New Delhi

| office = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

| term_start = 24 June 2024

| term_end =

| constituency = Mumbai North Central

| predecessor = Poonam Mahajan

| office1 = President of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee

| term_start1 = 9 June 2023

| term_end1 =

| 1blankname1 = National President Congress

| 1namedata1 = Mallikarjun Kharge

| predecessor1 = Bhai Jagtap

| office2 = Minister of School Education
Government of Maharashtra

| term_start2 = 30 December 2019

| term_end2 = 29 June 2022

| 1blankname2 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata2 = Uddhav Thackeray

| 2blankname2 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata2 = Ajit Pawar

| 3blankname2 = Guardian Ministers

| 3namedata2 = Hingoli District

| governor2 = Bhagat Singh Koshyari

| predecessor2 = *Balasaheb Thorat

• Dilip Kamble
  (Guardian Ministers Hingoli)

| successor2 = *Eknath Shinde

• Abdul Sattar
  (Guardian Ministers Hingoli)

| office3 = Minister of Woman and Child Development
Government of Maharashtra

| 1blankname3 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata3 = Prithviraj Chavan

| 2blankname3 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata3 = Ajit Pawar

| 3blankname3 = Guardian Ministers

| 3namedata3 = *Washim District

• Thane District

| governor3 = *K. Sankaranarayanan

• Om Prakash Kohli
  (additional charge)
• C. Vidyasagar Rao

| term_start3 = 11 November 2010

| term_end3 = 26 September 2014

| predecessor3 = *Subhash Zanak

• Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
  (Guardian Ministers Washim)
• Ganesh Naik
  (Guardian Ministers Thane)

| successor3 = *Pankaja Munde

• Eknath Khadse
  (Guardian Ministers Washim)
• Eknath Shinde
  (Guardian Ministers Thane)

| office4 = Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

| term_start4 = 2004

| term_end4 = 18 June 2024

| governor4 =

| 1blankname4 =

| 1namedata4 =

| predecessor4 = Eknath Gaikwad

| successor4 = Jyoti Gaikwad

| constituency4 = Dharavi

| office5 = Minister of State Government of Maharashtra

| minister5 = *Medical Education

• Higher and Technical Education
• Tourism
• Special Assistance

| 1blankname5 = Chief Minister

| 1namedata5 = Ashok Chavan

| 2blankname5 = Dy Chief Minister

| 2namedata5 = Chhagan Bhujbal

| 3blankname5 = Guardian Ministers

| 3namedata5 = Hingoli District

| governor5 = *S. C. Jamir

• K. Sankaranarayanan

| term_start5 = 07 November 2009

| term_end5 = 10 November 2010

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|3 February 1975|df=y}}

| birth_place = Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

| occupation = Politician

| children =

| party = Indian National Congress

| education = M.Sc (Maths), B.Ed

| alma_mater =

| profession = Professor

| father = Eknath Gaikwad

| spouse =

| sibling =

| Age =

}}

Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (born 3 February 1975) is an Indian politician serving as a member of parliament, Lok Sabha. She is the President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. Earlier, she was a four term Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) represented the Dharavi Assembly Constituency in Mumbai (2004-2024).{{Cite news |title=मोठी बातमी! काँग्रेसच्या तिसऱ्या आमदाराचा राजीनामा; अधिवेशनापूर्वीच विधानसभेतील संख्याबळ घटलं |trans-title=Big news! Resignation of the third Congress MLA; strength in the Legislative Assembly decreased before the session |url=https://marathi.abplive.com/news/politics/3rd-congress-mla-resigns-varsha-gaikwad-meets-president-rahul-narvekar-three-more-will-resigne-soon-1291552/amp |access-date=2024-09-08 |work=ABP Marathi |language=mr |publication-place=Mumbai}}{{cite web | url=http://www.elections.in/maharashtra/assembly-constituencies/dharavi.html | title=Dharavi Maharashtra Assembly Constituency Elections | access-date=15 April 2016}}{{cite web | url=https://www.newsreporter.in/gaikwad-varsha-eknath-of-inc-wins-the-dharavi-constituency-maharastra-maharastra-assembly-election-2014-548751 | title=Gaikwad Varsha Eknath of INC WINS the Dharavi constituency Maharastra Assembly Election 2014 | work=newsreporter.in | access-date=15 April 2016}}{{cite web | url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/varsha-gaikwad-tipped-to-be-mumbai-congress-womens-wing-chief/17086157 | title=Varsha Gaikwad tipped to be Mumbai Congress women's wing chief | work=mid-day.com | date=30 March 2016 | access-date=15 April 2016}} She served as the Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra from 30 December 2019 to 29 June 2022.

Gaikwad won the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. She defeated BJP candidate Adv. Ujjwal Nikam.https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-lok-sabha-elections-2024-congress-nominates-varsha-gaikwad-for-north-central-mumbai-seat-amid-controversy She is one of the three Buddhist MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha.https://www.dhammabharat.com/buddhist-mps-in-18th-loksabha/