BJP may get its first woman president: Nirmala Sitharaman, D Purandeswari among likely picks
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is undergoing a significant organisational reshuffle. Following the recent appointments of state and Union territory unit chiefs, the focus has now shifted to selecting the party's next national president.
JP Nadda has held the top post since 2020. Although his term ended in 2023, it was extended until 2024 to lead the party through the Lok Sabha elections. With that phase complete, sources told Live Hindustan that the BJP is now likely to appoint its first-ever woman president.
Among the frontrunners is Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who has been in charge of the ministry since 2019. Her Tamil Nadu roots could benefit the party’s southern outreach. She recently met with current president JP Nadda and BJP General Secretary BL Santhosh at the party headquarters, further fuelling speculation.
Another prominent name is D Purandeswari, former Andhra Pradesh BJP chief. She played a role in the government’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ delegation, which conveyed India's anti-terror stance in key European countries including the UK, France, and Germany.
Also in contention is Vanathi Srinivasan, former BJP Mahila Morcha national president. In 2021, she gained national attention by defeating actor and MNM founder Kamal Haasan in Coimbatore South. A party member since 1993, she joined the BJP’s Central Election Committee in 2022.
Sources suggest that the party is considering a woman candidate for the top post to consolidate support among women voters—a demographic where the BJP has made notable inroads in recent years. The move may also align with the BJP’s passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2023, which guarantees 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
