Women's turnout at India's national elections surged from 53% in 2004 to 67% in 2019 - a historic moment when it edged ahead of men's percentage turnout for the first time.
"Three generations of my family, all men, have been with the party. But now it's changing - as a woman I am also equally invested," said the 48-year-old, who is seeking the support of party officials to stand as a lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 national election."I think it's critical for more female candidates to contest."
For the BJP, winning the hearts and minds of women voters is central to its growth strategy to stave off electoral stagnation after a decade in power and cement its dominance at the ballot box, according to Reuters interviews with 10 officials in the party, including ministers and federal lawmakers. Increasing the number of women in India's corridors of power will"definitely be a game-changer" electorally and socially, said Vanathi Srinivasan, the lawmaker chosen by Modi to lead the BJP's charge towards equal representation.
"Despite economic growth, Indian women's participation in the country's politics has not kept pace," said Christophe Jaffrelot, a professor of Indian politics and sociology at King's India Institute in London. Reuters interviews with six other senior women politicians in the BJP identified the biggest roadblock to change as a lack of will among socially conservative party officials at state and district level, where politicians typically begin their careers.
"Let me just say, women with political ambition have to work enormously hard to prove their commitment and leadership."The BJP's national president J.P. Nadda told Reuters that empowering women and harnessing female talent was central to the party's growth strategy. This was echoed by an official in Modi's office, who said the prime minister saw improving gender balance as integral to governance.
Nonetheless, leaders of the BJP and other parties said they recognised the need to address a growing disenchantment among women voters about the lack of representation.
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