NDA looks to spin Lok Sabha defeat into win with women voters | India News

NEW DELHI: : The shock left the government reeling in the Lok Sabha, where the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill with an increase of 50% seats in the House by 2029 was defeated by the opposition. NDA Not exactly licking her wounds and instead sees it as an opening to burnish her pro-feminist credentials and take the fight to her rivals, including in South India, where the opposition has offices in all states except Andhra Pradesh. The Prime Minister Modi-led government has in the past shown a willingness to cut losses when its legislative moves face political headwinds, as was the case with the farm laws, which were passed by parliament but scrapped by the government in 2021 due to unbridled protests by a section of farmers. Similarly, the government allowed its bill to amend the UPA-era Land Acquisition Act in its first term amid fears that it risked being seen as pro-corporate. Contrary to the government manager’s initial assumption, the Congress and the TMC felt no such risk when they were urged to stick with the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill despite vague signs that they would not break ties with the DMK. The bills eventually faced defeat in the Lok Sabha. Of course, with the opposition framing delimitation as a conspiracy against southern states, some in the party feel that the DMK will milk the charge and divert attention from its vulnerabilities to crime and corruption. But they did not foresee any major damage outside Tamil Nadu. dominant scene in BJP And its allies admit that the failure has created an embarrassment, giving the opposition a rare moment of celebration, but they are confident that the setback can be recovered as an opportunity to deepen the alliance’s connection with women voters, who, in any case, have shown a preference for them in many states for targeted welfare and assembly schemes and support in the assembly. election An NDA official said, “Bills would have gained if passed, but failure does not cause losses.” On the south, the feeling is that Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, with their clear assurances, were also able to send a message that the BJP would ensure justice in South India in terms of restrictions, and a strong show of support from its southern allies such as the TDP, JDS and AIADMK suggests that the issue cannot be seen through the DMK’s prism alone. Modi quickly moved away from the blocs and took it head on after raiding DMK grounds in Tamil Nadu a day after the bill was defeated. The DMK cannot cover up its black deeds by wearing black clothes, he said at a public meeting, accusing the regional party of derailing noble efforts. A family-run party like the DMK would not want other women to gain political power, she said. With the NDA already said to have hit the streets against opposition parties for defeating the Constitution Amendment Bill, he told a cabinet meeting on Saturday that they would have to pay a political price and urged them to counter the narrative built around the alleged discrimination against southern states and delimitation of constituencies to suit the ruling coalition. In Delhi, women members of the BJP, including Union Minister Raksha Khadse, marched towards Rahul Gandhi’s residence but were intercepted midway as the party and its allies tried to put the Congress and other members of the Bharat Bloc on the defensive. “We lost in numbers, but in our case we lost for a good cause,” said a BJP member, claiming that it was always a “win-win” situation for the party. This time, the opposition also moved to present its case in public, evidenced by a presser from Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who emerged as one of her party’s most vocal voices in Parliament, as she accused the BJP of using the quota law as an excuse to change the federal structure by delimiting boundaries to stay in power “permanently”.