The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had risen from modest roots to question the long, entrenched hold of the Congress party, is set for a historic transformation. Even in its meteoric rise, the party has never featured a woman as its national president. Though women have been in a position of influence in different states, the party’s highest leadership role at the national level has eluded them—until now.
This time around, the BJP is seriously looking at women leaders to helm the party, with strong contenders being in the forefront from South India. Three women are in the race to become the BJP national president presently: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former Andhra Pradesh BJP state president and Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari, and BJP National Women’s Morcha chief Vasathi Srinivasan.
Of these aspirants, Nirmala Sitharaman and Vasathi Srinivasan are from Tamil Nadu, and Purandeswari is from Andhra Pradesh. Political commentators opine that Purandeswari has the greatest possibility of getting the assignment, particularly in the wake of the BJP-Jana Sena-TDP combination’s grand success in the just-concluded elections in Andhra Pradesh. Party operatives are very confident of her leadership skills.
Nirmala Sitharaman, although from Tamil Nadu by birth, is close to Andhra Pradesh by marriage to political commentator Prabhakar Parakala. She is known for her commitment and constant availability and has been a key player in the BJP’s success and one of India’s longest-serving female Finance Ministers under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Daggubati Purandeswari, daughter of TDP founder Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, is an educated and seasoned politician. Having broken away from TDP, she joined BJP and was also a central minister, admired by everyone. Her Andhra Pradesh BJP president position will be remembered for ironclad discipline and stability in the party; that just further enhanced her image.
Vasathi Srinivasan, who is a BJP member of 1993 vintage, came into limelight after she trounced celebrity-politician Kamal Haasan in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections of Coimbatore South. This historic victory brought her recognition in the party, and she is currently a member of BJP’s Central Election Committee. But her possibilities as national president are relatively less, according to experts.
Finally, as BJP is keen on making history by inducting its first woman national president, these three leaders are leaders of the pack. With her established political career and recent electoral victories, Daggubati Purandeswari is leading the pack, marking a new era for BJP’s leadership.