BJP to groom women for party posts

With a series of openings coming up in the BJP's organisational structure after it decided to reserve one-third of its posts for women, the party has now realised that it needs to train and groom the women who will be candidates for these posts.

The party's youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), is engaging women achievers and experts in public speaking and personality development to groom women leaders to occupy these positions.

Starting on Friday, the party is holding a series of seminars, called Veerangana Sammelans, to attract young leaders.

Actress Sudha Chandran, billiards champion Anuja Thakur and even motivational speaker Jayashree Phadnavis will be addressing these seminars, expected to be attended by around 1,300 women in the 18-35 age group.

At least nine posts at the central level and countless others at the state and district levels have opened up for women after the party's decision to reserve seats for women.

The need for grooming women leaders has been felt keenly by party leaders, including the BJP's top woman leader Sushma Swaraj.

"When I entered politics, it was through the socialist, anti-emergency Nav Nirman Movement led by Jayprakash Narayan. Therefore, my case is different. One usually finds that women find it difficult to break into politics, and are constrained by various factors. Mostly those born in political families or those who have married into them find it easier to get space," she said.

According to BJYM officer-bearer Vani Tripathi, even women corporate honchos like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and achievers like sportsperson Sushma Singh will be approached. "We are also going to have sessions on Yoga and spirituality for an all-round grooming approach," she said.

Both Tripathi and BJYM national president Amit Thakker are determined that the new representation should be free of political dynasty.

"Our party does not believe in this and we want that women other than those from political families join us and get space. Frankly, this is the only way we will know of the real issues of women and the youth," says Thakker.