New Delhi: The BJP is tapping into the “inspiring” legacy of the late political icon Sushma Swaraj to connect with women voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This it is doing by bestowing the Sushma Swaraj Award to 10 women achievers from every district of the country in the hopes that they will act as “influencers”, party sources told ThePrint.
BJP leaders who spoke to ThePrint emphasised that former external affairs minister Swaraj, more than “any new age leader”, was a perfect “role model” as she was a seasoned politician who also valued her cultural roots, from observing Karva Chauth to always wearing a bindi.
“The basic idea behind awarding women in the name of Sushma Swaraj is to immortalise her contribution. She was a highly respected and beloved women leader across party lines. She was the first woman leader among the Gen X leaders of the party who, through her personal and public conduct, influenced women across India,” said Rajya Sabha MP Indu Goswami, who had participated in a Sushma Swaraj Award function in Shimla district Sunday.
“She was a role model for Indian women. She wore saris and big bindis on her forehead and observed Karva Chauth, and also attacked the opposition in Parliament with her crystal clear and impactful Hindi speeches, filled with facts and emotions. Through awarding women, we want to connect more women to Sushmaji’s legacy,” Goswami added.
Vanathi Srinivasan, national president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, told ThePrint that the party’s women’s wing is selecting achievers from different walks of life in every district of the country.
“We are acknowledging their outstanding contributions and achievements in the service of women. More than 9,000 women achievers have been given the Sushma Swaraj Award for their contributions, so that they can become an inspiration for others in society, like Sushma Swaraj,” she added.
Over the last few days, the party has presented the Sushma Swaraj Award to women in different parts of the country.
In Dehradun, 26 women received the award this Sunday in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. In Jammu, also on Sunday, the party presented the award to women from several fields — including a pilot, an IIT researcher, a professor, an entrepreneur, and an artist — in the presence of former deputy CM Kavinder Gupta and J&K BJP general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul.
The Haryana government, which announced the Sushma Swaraj Award in its 2022 budget, also presented the award to several women on March 10.
There are now high hopes that these awardees will help the party add to its tally of women’s votes.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh explained the rationale.
“Our penetration among women in a few states is still less than men, despite the focused welfare programmes of Prime Minister Modi. In our party meetings, we were told that reaching women through influencers is more impactful. Many people don’t want to listen to speeches, but when pilots, women entrepreneurs, professors talk about welfare programmes or simply spread the word about our good work, there is a manifold increase in impact,” she said. “These achievers will influence more women in reaching our target group.”
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‘Mandal, kamandal, and now women’
The BJP has several prominent women leaders, including Union ministers Smriti Irani, Pratima Bhoumik, Darshana Jardosh, and Sadhvi Niranjana Jyoti. But sources said no one quite matched the “aura” of Sushma Swaraj, who passed away on 6 August 2019 at the age of 67.
“She was an excellent orator, effective parliamentarian, dedicated politician, compassionate foreign minister, good wife, mother, and sister. Despite reaching the top slot in the BJP and the power structure, she never abandoned her humility, unlike many other new-age women leaders. That is the reason why no other women leader has reached the heights of Sushma,” said a woman Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra.
This MP added that Sushma Swaraj made a career in politics seem more accessible to “ordinary women”.
“Earlier, public life was reserved for elite women. She, with her sheer determination, made the entry of ordinary women into politics possible. She is the only woman politician with great recall values among the masses. By celebrating Sushmaji‘s life, we want to connect more aggressively with the women’s segment,” she said.
The party is targeting this segment with greater strategic focus in the run-up to elections, said a central BJP leader, asking not to be named.
“Mandal happened in 1990, kamandal happened after that, and now the women catchment area is a new strategy of BJP politics,” he said.
The term “Mandal” refers to politics concerning Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Caste (SC), stemming from the 1979 Mandal Commission. “Kamandal” is a metaphor for Hindutva politics, derived from the water pot used by spiritual leaders.
The central BJP leader added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been “repeatedly telling” party cadres to adopt a more focused approach to women’s welfare.
In his Independence Day speech last year, the PM spoke at length about how “nari shakti”, or women’s power, could take the country to new heights. Last April, at the 42nd Foundation Day of the BJP, too, the PM highlighted how “women came forward to vote for us in the last several elections”. This, Modi had said, reflected both a “social awakening” and an “electoral phenomenon”.
“The PM has mentioned the power of silent women voters in development and in ensuring the BJP’s victory in many states. The party has also beaten anti-incumbency in Tripura by fielding a greater number of women candidates. More women leaders will widen the BJP catchment area that is why there is a constant focus on reaching more women,” the central party leader said.
Power of nari votes
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 37.36 per cent of the votes— its highest vote-share since the party was formed in 1980. Another record of sorts was made too, with the voter turnout being almost the same for men and women at around 66 per cent each. In the 2014 LS elections as well, an upward trend in women voters was apparent. In that election, about 65 per cent of women voted, up from just over 55 per cent in 2009.
Further, data from two post-poll surveys shows that in the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa, more women than men seem to have voted for the BJP. The party won the polls in all four states.
More women voted than men overall in these polls. In UP, the voting percentage of women was 62.24 per cent against men’s 59.96 per cent; in Uttarakhand, it was 67.2 percent against 62.6 percent; in Goa, it was 80.96 per cent against 78.19 per cent; and in Manipur it was 90.5 per cent against 87.9 per cent. In Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power, there were marginally more male voters than female, at 71.99 per cent and 71.91 per cent respectively.
The BJP’s women-centric schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Ujjwala, and Sukanya Samriddhi, amongst many others, are often credited for the traction that the party seems to have with women voters in several states. The PM often speaks of women’s issues in public speeches and the BJP also fielded more women candidates than other parties in the 2019 polls.
BJP Mahila Morcha chief Srinivasan told ThePrint that efforts are on to woo even more women for the 2024 elections through various schemes and programmes, in addition to the Sushma Swaraj Award.
One such programme is ‘Kamal Mitra’ (friend of the lotus), to be launched next month. It entails training women to impart awareness about the Modi government’s schemes.
“We are connecting with women through several other measures like Kamal Mitra. Our target is to identify one lakh Kamal Mitra. We are also training our karyakartas (workers) to run the Kamal Mitra programme. These Kamal Mitra will facilitate women at the grassroots level in helping those who are facing difficulties in availing government schemes. Through selfies with beneficiaries, our target is to reach one crore women,” Srinivasan said.
“We will have town hall meetings with 5,000-10,000 women in 100 cities to amplify our grassroots connect with women. We want to increase the participation of women leaders in politics, besides reaching more women ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” she added.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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