BJP plans marathon to woo women voters

New Delhi: With an eye on the loomingly polls and next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is all set to woo women voters, considered a strong support base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A first-of-its-kind four-day “women’s empowerment marathon”, covering 400 km in five states, four of them BJP-ruled, and highlighting the “achievements” of the Modi government that benefited and empowered women, will be flagged off on October 12.

The marathon, organised by the party women’s wing, is dedicated to the its late leader Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, and will be flagged off at the beginning of her birth centenary from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and will pass through Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Incidentally, the BJP is facing one of its toughest electoral battles in both Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the Rajmata’s daughter Vasundhara Raje is chief minister and is facing an open revolt from within the BJP, besides a strong challenge by a resurgent Opposition.

While the MP chief minister will flag off the marathon, in which nearly 100 professional women from various fields will participate, the chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states will receive them in their states along with senior leaders. BJP president Amit Shah will welcome the participants in Delhi, where the mar-athon will conclude on October 16.

Along the marathon route, it will be joined by other local people, including in Agra where nearly 5,000 people are likely to join it as it reaches the Eklavya Sports Stadium. The BJP women’s wing, headed by Vijaya Rahatkar, will organise various events along with route, including  “Ujjawala ki chai, Ujjawala ki rasoi”, highlighting the Modi government’s key scheme Ujjwala, meetings with intellectuals, along with other women-centric schemes of the BJP-led NDA government, besides programmes to reach out to first-time women voters. Many BJP women MLAs and MPs, including Central ministers, are expected to welcome the participants and attend programmes at various places along the route.