Gangadhar Rao Newalkar (1797 – 21 November 1853) was the 5th Raja of Jhansi situated in northern India, a vassal of Maratha Empire.

Maharaj Gangadhar Rao possessed considerable taste and some scholarship; he collected a fine library of Sanskrit manuscripts and enriched the architecture of the town of Jhansi.

She never became queen consort of Jhansi as Maharaj Gangadhar Rao started to hold the title of Raja (King) in 1843, after Maharani Ramabai's death.

On 19 May 1842, Maharaja Gangadhar Rao married a young girl named Manikarnika Tambe, later renamed as Lakshmibai, who was directly given the title of Rani (Queen Consort) after marriage.

The adoption was in the presence of the British political officer who was given a letter from the Raja requesting that the child should be treated with kindness and that the government of Jhansi should be given to his widow for her lifetime.