BJP and its decades-long preparation to leverage women’s reservation Bill
The HinduThe timing of the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill, now finally cleared through Parliament, is still a matter of conjecture, but the BJP says it is in the best possible position to furnish the 180 women candidates for the Lok Sabha and hundreds for State Assembly that will be required when the Bill does get translated on the ground. The BJP, under whose government the Women’s Reservation Bill was finally cleared has been one of the early starters in this area and has regular training programmes for women cadre and leaders drawn from across the country. The party began by formally announcing in 2007, when current Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was the BJP president, that it would be reserving 33% of its organisational posts, including among national office bearers, for women. As Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha office bearer around 2006, she organised a structured programme called the “Veerangana Sammelan” specifically targeted at young women between the ages of 18-35.