New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's announcement of giving 40 per cent tickets in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to women has posed a new challenge for all the political parties, though most political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), dismissed this declaration by the Congress as a 'political gimmick'.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati termed the Congress' announcement as 'pure drama'.
If we look at the number of women candidates during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, BJP had given tickets to 46 women, out of which 35 women won. Two out of 12 women candidates of Congress won, two out of 21 BSP candidates won, only one out of 43 in Samajwadi Party women candidates emerged victorious and one out of two women candidates in Apna Dal won.