Assam gets an all-women political party before polls

GUWAHATI: A new regional political party comprising only women has been formed in the state on the ground that there is no sufficient space for women in any political party, including the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the state. The party has been named as ‘Mohilar Dal’.
The development comes at a time when all political parties have stepped up campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections to be held early next year.
“The Constitution of India talks about equality of status and opportunity. But we feel the women have been deprived of that, especially in the political arena. The patriarchy system is also in politics and that has not allowed space for women politicians to work,” Bhabani Boro, president of the newly floated regional party, said.
Rejecting the idea of nationalistic politics, the party president said, “People of the state are fed up with the Hindutva ideology and dynasty politics. Women have always been dominated in our society. Hence, we have rejected the idea to join any political party, including the ruling BJP, and decided to fight politically for our needs.”
Moreover, the party emphasized the need for strong regional forces to oust the ruling BJP, accusing the latter of doing religious politics. The party president also urged the newly floated Asom Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal to unite against ‘communal’ politics for which the people of the state have suffered a lot over the last couple of years.
She further denied any possibility to extend support to Congress though the Grand Old Party has kept its doors open for all for a grand alliance to oust BJP.
Talking about fielding candidates in the assembly elections, she said everything will be finalized by the end of the year.
It is pertinent to mention that Congress, All India United Democratic Front, CPI and CPM have forged an alliance to fight in unison against BJP to protect the interest of the greater Assamese community and its culture. On the other hand, BJP has said it is confident of winning the election with absolute majority.
(With inputs from Mukut Das)