After passing the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was expected to accommodate more women candidates in the Assembly polls this year, but “the respect for women seems to be missing”.
In the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), where the party is strong compared to rural areas, not a single woman candidate has been accommodated after two lists. The most visible faces of the party in the GHMC area, including Vijaya Lakshmi, daughter of Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, and former GHMC Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy, were denied tickets.
Other aspirants Mahila Morcha president Geeta Murthy, Akula Vijaya and Veerapaneni Padma, who are national executive committee members, also found their names missing from the list. Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi was seeking the Musheerabad ticket while Dr. Padma was eyeing the Jubilee Hills ticket.
Ms. Karthika Reddy, the first Mayor of the GHMC and also the first woman Mayor, was the front-runner for Secunderabad ticket with the blessings of Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy. She joined the party from Congress in 2019 and has been the face of women’s BJP in the State, along with seniors like former Minister D.K. Aruna and former MP and film actor Vijayashanti.
The ticket of seniors like Tula Uma, who joined the party along with Eatala Rajender, is also kept pending. Another vocal candidate, Rani Rudrama, has been pitted against IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao in Sircilla.
