Shaina NC, the BJP Spokesperson and one of the most prominent faces in Maharashtra, slammed all political parties across the board including her own for not giving adequate representation to women in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
While talking to The Indian Express, she said that every time a woman’s name comes up as a candidate, people start raising questions about her winnability, funding, unless she’s somebody’s daughter or daughter-in-law. According to her, political parties have a ‘male chauvinistic mindset’ and that it demands political will, respect and belief in a woman as a vote bank and not just lip service to the cause.
With BJP fielding seven women candidates out of 25 seats, amounting to 28% representation for women in Maharashtra, its highest ever. She says, “Seven candidates – do you think that’s enough?” She further points out that out of those seven, three candidates – Poonam Mahajan, Pritam Munde, and Hina Gavit, all are the daughters of party leaders, and the fourth candidate, Smita Wagh is a party leader’s wife. As per her views, this isn’t the correct representation of women, as others should also be given a chance.
Appreciating Navneet Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, for giving 33% and 41% tickets to women for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, she says that, “All other parties need to wake up.”
She says that the most upsetting thing is that we only conduct dialogues and discussions on the rights that human beings are entitled to. But she promised that she would fight ‘the male chauvinistic mind-set’ in her own and all the other political parties and would champion the cause of reservation. Shaina wants women to speak up and demands all the parties to give 33% representation to women in elections as part of the manifesto of their party irrespective of legislation in Parliament for reservation,” reports Hindustan Times.
She has also tweeted saying,
Shaina NC, the daughter of former Mumbai Sheriff, Nana Chudasma, has contested elections only once before, in 2004 from the Bandra Assembly Constituency, where she lost to the Congress candidate. She is also the treasurer of BJP’s state unit.
Shaina had been one of the contenders for a ticket from Mumbai in the last two Lok Sabha elections, but unfortunately, she had been neglected for other candidates, reports The Tribune.
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