Opposition women MPs took centre stage both within Parliament and at the famous Makar Dwar during the recent Monsoon Session. They aggressively raised a range of issues — from the 33% women’s quota and Jantar Mantar police lathi charge to Ram temple donation theft allegations.
In fact, when her uncle and the party’s senior leader Shivpal Singh Yadav committed a political faux pas by declaring that the incarcerated Azam Khan would be made the state’s home minister if the SP won the election, she remained non-committal while accusing the government of committing excesses against him (Azam). calm and composed while delivering salvos at the treasury benches with a smile, the surprise of the session was Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, who was often seen sitting right behind her husband and Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav in Parliament While Gandhi has always been erudite. She used to maintain a low profile with limited media interactions in the past. Now, she is more assertive and confident in interactions with journalists and other MPs. Yadav’s public image received a boost after she helped the injured young protesters at Jantar Mantar during the protest by the Cockroach Janta Party demanding education reforms. She took up cudgels for them with the administration, emotionally raising their issue on the floor of the House. Kurmis wield considerable influence in their areas. To stem their drift to SP, the BJP had appointed a Kurmi state president, Pankaj Chaudhury. The appointment of both Sangeeta Yadav and Rekha Verma is also a counter to the SP’s PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formula. The beneficiary schemes — from toilets and rations to cash transfers on the eve of the polls — had proved to be a game changer. The success of Rahul Gandhi’s women special session in Pune under the Congress’ ‘Chattron ki Goonj’ outreach programme must have rung alarm bells in the ruling BJP.
Rekha Verma, a Kurmi (OBC) leader, twice defeated Jitin Prasada in his bastion Dhaurahra in Lakhimpur Kheri in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls before he quit the Congress and joined the BJP. She lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election to the Samajwadi Party by a few thousand votes. The BJP’s script is likely to be similar in Uttar Pradesh, where there is already a buzz about the government thinking about announcing a prepoll promise of ₹ 50000 to women voters.
The BJP continues to focus on “aadhi abadi” after women supported the party in several states.
