Women’s Day to see next big BJP push: Modi govt lines up announcements

In West Bengal, the BJP’s high-decibel campaign over the Sandeshkhali incidents in North 24 Parganas and PM Modi’s attack on the ruling TMC over “atrocities against women of Sandeshkhali” – during his address at Arambagh rally in Hooghly district last Friday – signalled the party’s women outreach to increase its Lok Sabha tally from the state.

This has put the TMC on the defensive even as the party’s local strongman Sheikh Shahjahan has been arrested in the case of an attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials who had gone to raid his house in Sandeshkhali early January in connection with its probe into a ration scam.

Shahjahan, who had been on the run for 55 days, and his aides also faced allegations of sexual abuse and land grabbing from local women.

The women voters have strongly backed the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, fuelling its return to power for a third term in 2021. Hours after Shahjahan’s arrest, the TMC suspended him from the party for six years.

Significantly, PM Modi is expected to address the national meeting of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Barasat in North 24 Parganas on March 7. Apart from the female beneficiaries of various Central government schemes, several women from Sandeshkhali are also likely to participate in this conclave, with the party looking to set the tone for the elections, sources said.

The BJP has asked its leaders across Bengal to campaign heavily on the Sandeshkhali issue and project the TMC and other Opposition parties as “anti-women” while highlighting the initiatives taken by the Modi government for the welfare and empowerment of women. The BJP’s women workers in various cities have been organising protests over the issue.

Some BJP leaders admitted that in the previous Assembly polls, the party could not stall CM Mamata’s third term because of the “overwhelming support” the TMC got from women. Women overtook men in voting in the 2021 Bengal elections, which saw a turnout of 81.7% female voters as against 81.4% male voters.

BJP insiders say PM Modi in its interactions with the party leaders often reminds them that women voters are going to be the “game changer” in the electoral scene and that their support would bring in “significant changes” in the political landscape. They also attributed the party’s recent spectacular victories in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the women voters, among other factors. “Modi’s promise to women in Chhattisgarh that every married woman would get a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month really worked for the party. So, Chhattisgarh government will distribute its three instalments – for January, February and March – under the Mahtari Vandana Scheme on March 9,” said a party leader.

Women voters also outnumbered their men counterparts in Chhattisgarh in the November 2023 Assembly elections. Of the total 1.56 crore people who voted in the state, around 78.1 lakh were women and 77.5 lakh men.

While the BJP ‘s central unit would prepare the poll campaign materials detailing the initiatives taken by the Modi government for women – including various welfare schemes

like the piped drinking water supply and handouts as well as the passage of the Women Reservation Bill – it has also asked the party-ruled state governments to take steps to fulfil their promises made for women before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP’s lists of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls would also see an increase in women representation in almost all the states.

At the marathon first meeting of the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) held earlier this week, PM Modi was learnt to have reiterated that more women candidates should be fielded in the polls.

The BJP leaders said that although winnability has taken priority in the party’s criteria for selection of candidates in order to make the target of 370 seats a reality, the PM wanted considerable women representation in the “party’s seats”.

The BJP has fielded 28 women in its first list of 195 candidates announced on Saturday.