Priya Dutt

Priya Dutt Roncon (born 28 August 1966) is an Indian politician. 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 Indian general election, she was defeated by Poonam Mahajan of the BJP by a margin of around 1.86 lakh votes.

Early life and education

Priya Dutt is the daughter of the late Bollywood actor and politician Sunil Dutt and Nargis. She is of Punjabi descent. 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. With her sister, she published a memoir, Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, in 2007.

She is married to Owen Roncon who is a Catholic

She received her B.A. degree in sociology from Sophia College, Mumbai University. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in television production from the Center for Media Arts, New York City, New York, United States.

Politics

In 2004, 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.

Since her election, Priya has been appointed secretary of the All-India Congress Committee.

Other activities

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

Dutt also 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.

Personal life

Priya married Owen Roncon on 27 November 2003. Roncon is a partner in Oranjuice Entertainment, a music promotion company, and Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt Ltd, a marketing firm. Roncon is a Roman Catholic from Bandra, Mumbai.