The BJP is trying its best to woo Bengal's women voters in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.
Around 30 leaders of the BJP women's wing from various parts of India reached out to women across Bengal for two days on October 4 and 5.
The women leaders, who are mostly presidents or senior vice-presidents of the BJP women's wing from Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, interacted with Bengal's women to know their opinions on the BJP. Then, the visiting women leaders advised their counterparts in Bengal on how to strike a rapport with women.
"Thirty leaders of BJP Mahila Morcha from different states visited Bengal on October 4 and 5. They met several women voters in the districts to inform them about the women empowerment initiatives of the Narendra Modi government. They also held meetings with BJP women leaders in the districts and submitted a report to Delhi on their observations," said Phalguni Patra, the Bengal president of BJP Mahila Morcha.
A senior BJP leader said party leaders in Bengal were under pressure since Union home minister Amit Shah set a target of winning 35 of Bengal's 42 parliamentary seats in 2024. The support of women voters is crucial, the leader added.
Of Bengal’s 7,32,94,980 voters, 3,59,27,084 are women. A source said the voters' number is likely to increase after the revised electoral rolls before the Lok Sabha polls are published. Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee has enjoyed the backing of a substantial number of women since she assumed power in 2014.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had bagged 18 seats in the state. However, women voters played a big part in Trinamul's performance in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Mamata, in her first cabinet meeting after winning the 2021 Assembly polls, announced Lakshmir Bhandar, a direct fund transfer scheme for women.
"Women voters of Bengal are apparently inclined to Trinamul, especially after Lakshmir Bhandar. If we want to win at least the same number of seats as in 2019, we have to break Trinamul's hegemony over the women's vote-bank," said a senior BJP leader.
Tapasi Saha, a vice-president of the BJP's women's wing in Andaman and Nicobar, who visited Birbhum and Bolpur during her two-day visit, said: "Many I met are fond of the BJP and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, but they do not know what he has done for them. There are so many obstacles on the ground because of the ruling Trinamul. Our women leaders in Bengal are strong but they need to work on the ground better."
