BJP has stolen a march over other political parties as far as women’s empowerment is concerned.

The party’s national executive on Saturday accepted the proposal to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women at all levels within the organisation. “It’s a historic day for women workers of BJP,” Sushma Swaraj announced on the second day of the national executive. Already, BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, where the party shares power with JD-U, have increased reservation for women in local panchayat bodies to 50 per cent.

After the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, 33 per cent seats were reserved for women in local bodies. When MP followed Bihar to increase that to 50 per cent, they became the only states to do so.

The party said its record on women’s empowerment has always been better than others, especially the Left which often accuses the BJP of having an anti-woman mindset. “CPI(M) did not have a single woman member in the Politburo till a year ago,” the party said, taking a dig at the Left. None of the three states that elect Left parties has seen a single woman Chief Minister.

“We submitted the Women’s Reservation Bill twice in Parliament and even tried to build a consensus in the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha but the UPA has not submitted any Bill since it came to power three years ago,” Swaraj said, adding that her party would always extend support for reserving 33 per cent seats in Assemblies and Parliament.

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