No stopping them

Daman Thind Bajwa | Punjab

Bajwa was the first woman president of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) in Punjab and was the Congress candidate from Sunam in the 2017 state Assembly elections. “There is a glass ceiling for women in politics as male counterparts do not want to see us rise. I got the opportunity to contest for Sunam and become the first woman in North India to contest from the NSUI only because of Rahul Gandhi. Otherwise, men keep telling women to contest only for posts reserved for women. Politics is generally a difficult profession as one has to deal with all kinds of people. I have been able to make a mark only because of the support extended by my husband and other family members.”

Kavita Jain | Haryana

Haryana’s Women and Child Development Minister, Kavita stumbled upon a political career in 2009 when her husband, politician Rajiv Jain, fielded her from Sonepat Assembly segment as he was not able to contest because of conviction in a criminal case. A Masters in Commerce, the 47-year-old was into teaching while her husband had contested two elections, in 2000 and 2005, from Sonepat on the BJP ticket but lost. Kavita has since won both the elections she contested, in 2009 and 2014, and now holds the rank of a cabinet minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar government. “Working for the upliftment and empowerment of women and ensuring  nutritious diet and education for children has always been my priority and will be,” says Jain.

Yukti Chaudhary | Haryana

This Harvard graduate shot to fame when she was elected member of the Zila Parishad in Fatehabad district in 2016. Married to Varun Godara, a deputy superintendent of jails, and grandson of former Haryana Home Minister Mani Ram Godara, Chaudhary first thought of entering politics after the government made 33 per cent reservation for women mandatory and introduced education criteria for candidates during the 2016 Panchayati Raj Institution polls. “Education and healthcare have always been my top priorities. I have noticed that people have begun understanding the importance of education,” she says, adding that emphasis needs to be laid on improving the general health of girls.

Shashi Bala | Himachal

The state BJP secretary became Zila Parishad member from Baldian panchayat in Shimla at the age of 22 while she was still pursuing MBA from Himachal Pradesh University in 2005. Later, she held many party positions, including that of district president of Shimla Mahila Morcha. “It is a big challenge for a woman to be successful in politics, especially if she is new to the field and nobody from her family has been in politics,” she says. However, she feels that with education and determination, she can do her job. “I had no clue what politics was all about when I became member of the Zila Parishad but gradually got motivated to serve people and decided to devote full time to politics,” she says. The 32-year-old unsuccessfully contested the 2017 Assembly polls from Rohru in Shimla. 

Daisy Thakur | Himachal

A PhD in psychology, Thakur is an upcoming woman leader representing the BJP from the industrial town of Parwanoo. It was her passion for social service and helping the poor, especially slum dwellers residing in the vicinity, that  led her to enter the poll arena as a councillor in 2005. The subsequent election won her the post of the chairperson of the committee entrenching her as a promising woman leader in the state BJP unit. “I have never hankered after any  post as my sole purpose has been to serve the poor. It was through newspapers that I had learnt about my appointment as a secretary in the state BJP and there has been no looking back,” she says.  She is presently chairperson of the State Women’s Commission.

Dr Hina Bhat | Kashmir

Daughter of veteran politician Mohammad Shafi Bhat, Hina left the medical profession to cleanse the ‘dirty’ world of politics and contested the 2014 Assembly elections from Amirakadal in Srinagar on a BJP ticket. Though she did not win that election, she was the first Muslim woman from Kashmir to join the saffron party. She believes more and more women should join politics. She says that if women contribute to the country and state through politics, it would make a difference and feels it is women who shun politics and not vice-versa. “Very few women have come out of their social bindings to join politics. More numbers would bring about a remarkable change,” says Bhat, who firmly believes  that the BJP is going to stay relevant in the electoral politics of J&K and its politics is not a threat to the restive state.

Rajni Sethi | Jammu

J&K BJP Mahila Morcha president, Sethi started involving herself in social activities at an early age and was inducted in the BJP in 2003-04. She has since been in active in politics and rose to the position of state president. A strong votary of 33 per cent reservation for women, Sethi says she wants to work towards uplift of women in all areas. She says political and social spheres have always been male dominated, with women only left to lead protests and rallies. She wants to break the culture and provide political empowerment to women. 

Inputs by Sushil Manav in Haryana, Ruchika M Khanna in Punjab, Pratibha Chauhan and Ambika Sharma in Himachal Pradesh, Vikram Sharma in Jammu, Ishfaq Tantry in Srinagar