indianexpress.com :: Delhi BJP flashes ‘women-friendly’ image ahead of elections

Delhi BJP flashes ‘women-friendly’ image ahead of elections

Vikas Pathak

Posted online: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2357 hrs IST

New Delhi, February 10
Hoping to project itself as a women-friendly party ahead of Assembly elections later this year, the Delhi BJP has sought 33 per cent reservation to women in all local, mandal and district committees of the party.

“The committees will have to file a report at the Pandit Pant headquarters within a week,” said state BJP president Harsh Vardhan at a party meeting on Saturday.

“None of the existing members will be ousted rather, new women members will be added to the panel.”

The state unit plans to use the national women’s reservation rally to be held on February 21 at Ram Lila Maidan both to project itself as a woman-friendly party and to consolidate its activists before the Assembly polls.

The sole agenda of the monthly meeting of Delhi BJP last week was to make plans for the rally that is expected to attract more than a lakh delegates from all corners of the country.

Harsh Vardhan asked activists to involve five women activists from the areas around all polling booths of the Capital for the rally.

“There are 10,000 polling booths in the city. If you can mobilise five women from the areas around each, we can have 50,000 women attending the rally from Delhi alone,” he told activists.

Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, Leader of the House in the MCD Subhash Arya and MCD Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta have been given charge of the arrangements at Ram Lila Maidan.

Meanwhile, on the lines of the recent Ram Sethu rally of the VHP, the Delhi state BJP has decided to use its core activists to distribute food packets to families, who would fill these with food for the women delegates.

The only difference, however, is that the food will be collected only from the homes of party activists. In this way, the party can use the rally to get in touch with a wide number of activists, who will also see themselves as active participants in the programme, party sources said.

Going by the meeting’s proceedings, one thing is very clear: the rally is aimed at conveying the message that the BJP is the only party that is serious about providing reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures.

Sources say the party aims at adding women members to its units and executive committees from the local to the national level before the rally to send out a strong political message.

Former Delhi Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the BJP was the only party that could legitimately claim to speak for women’s reservation, as it was the only one which had set an example by reserving 33 percent seats for women within the organizational structure.

She attacked the UPA government for “sitting on the women’s reservation Bill for four years”, claiming that the NDA government had tried to get it passed twice.

BJP’s Mahila Morcha national president Kiran Maheshwari said that in Gujarat, the party had gained the support of four per cent more women compared to the last time, and it hoped to replicate this success in Delhi and the Lok Sabha.

It has been widely publicised by the BJP that Narendra Modi had replaced rebels with women candidates, many of whom won. It seems the party wants to replicate the Gujarat experiment in the coming Delhi polls, as well as the Lok Sabha elections.

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Delhi BJP flashes ‘women-friendly’ image ahead of elections Vikas Pathak Posted online: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 2357 hrs IST New Delhi, February 10 Hoping to project itself as a women-friendly party ahead of Assembly elections later this year, the Delhi BJP has sought 33 per cent reservation to women in all local, mandal and district committees of the party. “The committees will have to file a report at the Pandit Pant headquarters within a week,” said state BJP president Harsh Vardhan at a party meeting on Saturday. “None of the existing members will be ousted rather, new women members will be added to the panel.” The state unit plans to use the national women’s reservation rally to be held on February 21 at Ram Lila Maidan both to project itself as a woman-friendly party and to consolidate its activists before the Assembly polls. The sole agenda of the monthly meeting of Delhi BJP last week was to make plans for the rally that is expected to attract more than a lakh delegates from all corners of the country. Harsh Vardhan asked activists to involve five women activists from the areas around all polling booths of the Capital for the rally. “There are 10,000 polling booths in the city. If you can mobilise five women from the areas around each, we can have 50,000 women attending the rally from Delhi alone,” he told activists. Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, Leader of the House in the MCD Subhash Arya and MCD Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta have been given charge of the arrangements at Ram Lila Maidan. Meanwhile, on the lines of the recent Ram Sethu rally of the VHP, the Delhi state BJP has decided to use its core activists to distribute food packets to families, who would fill these with food for the women delegates. The only difference, however, is that the food will be collected only from the homes of party activists. In this way, the party can use the rally to get in touch with a wide number of activists, who will also see themselves as active participants in the programme, party sources said. Going by the meeting’s proceedings, one thing is very clear: the rally is aimed at conveying the message that the BJP is the only party that is serious about providing reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures. Sources say the party aims at adding women members to its units and executive committees from the local to the national level before the rally to send out a strong political message. Former Delhi Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the BJP was the only party that could legitimately claim to speak for women’s reservation, as it was the only one which had set an example by reserving 33 percent seats for women within the organizational structure. She attacked the UPA government for “sitting on the women’s reservation Bill for four years”, claiming that the NDA government had tried to get it passed twice. BJP’s Mahila Morcha national president Kiran Maheshwari said that in Gujarat, the party had gained the support of four per cent more women compared to the last time, and it hoped to replicate this success in Delhi and the Lok Sabha. It has been widely publicised by the BJP that Narendra Modi had replaced rebels with women candidates, many of whom won. It seems the party wants to replicate the Gujarat experiment in the coming Delhi polls, as well as the Lok Sabha elections.