BJP, Cong take cue from West Bengal, focus on women voters
DEHRADUN: Taking cue from West Bengal elections, both the ruling BJP and Congress are focusing on wooing female voters ahead of the next year’s state assembly polls. The move becomes significant as women constitute about 49% of the total Uttarakhand population as per the 2011 census, with about 38 lakh eligible voters.
While the BJP is likely to launch the “Ghasiyari” scheme in September to provide cattle fodder at very low price so as to prevent the women in hilly areas from going to forest to fetch grass, the Congress has already promised to provide livelihood training to women to make them economically empowered.
Congress national general secretary and former chief minister Harish Rawat, who is also the president of the party state unit’s election campaign committee for 2022 assembly polls, said, “The Congress has major plans for the empowerment of women.”
“The reason behind the formation of our state would become void if women are not in the core. We in Congress understand this very well and will take every possible step for their socio-economic empowerment,” said Rawat. If voted to power, the first priority of the Congress would be to provide jobs to youths, Rawat said, adding “It will be clubbed with making the women empowered on the economic front.”
“Making the women empowered would be very important
for the state’s economic condition. We would provide them training, especially in the dairy sector. We will also provide them training by associating with the institutes having expertise on the matter,” said Rawat. On their (women) role in the upcoming polls, he said, “Women always play a pivotal role in the elections, not just in Uttarakhand but other states, like in West Bengal, where they were one of the deciding factors in the election outcome.”
Speaking on providing relief to the women amid the rising prices of essentials, including LPG prices, he said the party would provide “₹200 every month to all the women belonging to non-income tax payee households to provide some relief from the high prices of LPG cylinders. We will increase the amount gradually.”
Rawat also lashed out at the BJP on its soon to be launched Ghasiyari Scheme and said, “The
name in the scheme itself is derogatory for women. The term Ghasiyari was used for women who used to cut grass for the big landlords in olden days. This term is used to look down upon them. The BJP don’t care about women’s rights here.”
The BJP, meanwhile, refuted Rawat’s allegations and said, “The BJP has always been a party to focus on the empowerment of women.”
Party general secretary (organisation) in Uttarakhand, Rajendra Bhandari said, “The BJP has always been at the forefront to think about the rights of women and their empowerment.”
“Our government has taken several steps, including providing them the rights to own the agricultural land along with their husbands. This was a major step because before that they had no ownership rights of the land they were working on.”
He also called the soon-to-belaunched Ghasiyari Scheme as
one of the significant steps by the government to provide relief to the women in hilly areas.
“Our mothers and sisters in the hilly areas have to go to the nearby forests to fetch grass for their cattle. In that process, they are often attacked by the wild animals or meet with an accident. This scheme will cut off all those risks. If the Congress thinks it is derogatory then it shows that they don’t care about the women,” added Bhandari.
Political analyst MM Semwal, said the two parties were focusing on women because they “know their role in the society of Uttarakhand.”
“One will be a fool if he doesn’t focus on the women because they were at the core of all major movements the state has witnessed. Also, women constitute about half of the total population and after their role in the West Bengal elections, the parties here are now more aware of their electoral prowess.”