Priya Dutt

Indian politician and social worker

Priya Dutt
Dutt at an event in Mumbai

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 2009–2014
Preceded by	Eknath Gaikwad
Succeeded by	Poonam Mahajan Rao
Constituency	Mumbai North Central
In office 2005–2009
Preceded by	Sunil Dutt
Succeeded by	Gurudas Kamat
Constituency	Mumbai North West

Personal details
Born	Priya Balraj Dutt (1966-08-28) 28 August 1966 (age 57) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Citizenship	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Owen Roncon (m. 2003)
Children	2^[1]
Parents	Social worker Politician ^[1]

Priya Dutt Roncon (born 28 August 1966) is an Indian politician and social worker. She was elected for the first time to the 14th Lok Sabha from Mumbai North West constituency in Maharashtra on 22 November 2005, representing the Indian National Congress party. She represented the Mumbai North Central constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009. In the 2014 and 2019 Indian general elections, she was defeated by Poonam Mahajan of the BJP.

Early life and education

Priya Dutt Roncon, born as Priya Balraj Dutt is the daughter of the Bollywood actor and politician Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt.^[2] She is of Punjabi descent and was born and raised in Bombay, Maharashtra.^[3]^[4] Her parents were elected to represent the Indian National Congress and her father was a government minister. She is the sister of actor Sanjay Dutt and Namrata Dutt.^[5] With her sister, she published a memoir, Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, in 2007.^[6]

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Sophia College, University of Bombay in Cumbala Hill, South Bombay. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in television production from the Center for Media Arts in New York City, New York State, United States. ^[7]

Politics

It first became obvious that Priya was her father’s successor when she accompanied him on his Mahashanti Padyatra in 1987 from Mumbai to Amritsar.^[8] In 2005, following the death of her father, Sunil Dutt, and despite a low voter turnout, she won her seat in the Lok Sabha by a margin of 172,043 votes over the Shiv Sena candidate. Dutt received considerable media attention for this victory, partially on account of her famous family.^[9]

Since her election, Priya has been appointed secretary of the All-India Congress Committee. In the 2014 and 2019 Indian general elections, she was defeated by Poonam Mahajan of the BJP.

Other activities

After university, Dutt worked in television and video and studied at The Center for the Media Arts in New York.^[10] During and after the Bombay riots, Dutt worked with Muslim refugees in Mumbai. She reported receiving threatening telephone calls and public harassment.^[11]

Dutt also founded the Nargis Dutt Memorial Charitable Trust (NDMCT), which was started by her father Sunil Dutt, in memory of her mother Nargis Dutt who died from cancer in 1981.^[12]

Personal life

Priya married Owen Roncon on 27 November 2003.^[7] Roncon is a partner in Oranjuice Entertainment, a music promotion company, and Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt Ltd, a marketing firm.^[13] Roncon is a Roman Catholic from Bandra, West Mumbai.^[14] They have two sons Sumair (born 2007) and Siddharth (born 2005).^[15]

Bibliography

Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, Namrata Dutt Kumar and Priya Dutt, 2007, Roli Books. ISBN 978-81-7436-455-5.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Priya Dutt: Quick Facts". Zee news. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
^ "Did you know Sanjay Dutt's ancestors were landlords in Pakistan? – ETimes BFFS".
^ "Happy birthday Sunil Dutt: 5 films in which we fell in love with you". 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015.
^ "Bollywood actor Nargis Dutt remembered in today's Google Doodle". June 2015.
^ "Sanjay Dutt: I thought I would take the gun to Khandala, thoda chala ke phek dunga". The Times of India.
^ ^a ^b "To Mr and Mrs Dutt, with love" (review), The Hindu, 7 October 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Biographical Sketch Member of Parliament". Retrieved 17 February 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Bandra benevolent daughter". 28 April 2009.
^ The Hindu, 23 November 2005.
^ Biography Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Priya Dutt's official website.
^ Interview with Rediff.co.in, 29 November 2006.
^ Times of India, 14 September 2008.
^ Transcript of live chat with Priya Dutt Archived 7 July 2012 at archive.today, Times of India, 13 December 2005.
^ "Priya Dutt: Following in her father's footsteps". gulfnews.com. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
^ "Priya Dutt,Sumair Roncon,Owen Roncon,Siddharth Roncon(L-R)". dnasyndication.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.