Kanchana Yadav

Focus Areas

Dr. Kanchana Yadav is the National Spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), one of India’s major political parties and a constituent of the opposition INDIA Alliance. In this national role, she represents the party in television debates and public forums across the country, articulating its positions on democracy, education, women’s rights, public accountability and social justice.

Founded in 1997, the RJD is guided by principles of social justice, secularism and inclusive democracy, working to strengthen the participation of marginalized communities including women, OBCs, SCs, STs, minorities and economically weaker sections in governance and public life. Through her advocacy, Dr. Yadav advances UN Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality), 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 4 (Quality Education).

For nearly seven years Kanchana has championed the Women’s Reservation Bill, contributing through public speaking, writing and grassroots campaigns toward the 2023 legislation reserving 33% of seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women – she continues to advocate for 50% representation. In 2023, she received the Women of Sustainable and Network Award and is currently authoring a book on women’s political participation in India.

A first-generation woman leader from a lower middle-income family, Kanchana is driven by the belief that education and independent leadership can dismantle the barriers of privilege and inheritance that exclude women from public life. She holds a Ph.D. in Computational and Integrative Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, specializing in computational biology, machine learning and cancer genomics.