indica News Bureau-
Taking oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal formed the government at the capital on February 16, winning the Delhi elections by a landslide, securing 62 out of 70 seats. Though the ‘janta’ cheered to his words and promises, lack of women in AAP’s ministry has not gone down well with the public, especially women.
Besides him, Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain, and Rajendra Gautamas took oath as the ministers in Delhi.
With AAP fielding nine female candidates from different constituencies, and eight of them emerging victorious with big margins of votes, and AAP having done some good work for women, people expected more representation of females in the capital’s ministry. But the CM’s new cabinet does not have a single woman.
Candidates Atishi Marlena, Rakhi Birla, Raj Kumari Dhillon, Preeti Tomar, Dhanwati Chandela, Parmila Tokas, Bhavna Gaur and Bandana Kumari slayed the 2020 Assembly polls and became MLA’s of their constituencies, they could not make it to the Delhi’a new ministry. Only woman candidate Sarita Singh from Rohtas Nagar suffered defeat.
AAP’s poll campaign had put the spotlight on women’s issues- free bus rides for women, safety etc which further gave public hope for more representation of females in decision-making roles.
Marlena, who won the election from Kalkaji, has served as a key advisor to the AAP leader Manish Sisodia primarily on education policies that transformed public school education in the capital, reported India Today.
Just like Marlena, incumbent MLA Birla from Mangolpuri constituency has also failed to come back to the Cabinet in this term even after bagging over 74,100 votes, with a margin of over 30,000 votes and 58 per cent of the vote share.
She was charged with the Cabinet Ministry of Women and Child, Social Welfare and Languages, for a few months in AAP’s first term from 2013 to 2014. During this, period she came to the spotlight as she became the youngest ever cabinet minister of Delhi at the age of 26 and was even called “giant killer” for defeating four-time Congress MLA Raj Kumar Chouhan in 2013 Delhi polls.
Another candidate of AAP, Dhillon won Hari Nagar against BJP’s Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga by a margin of more than 20,100 votes.
Apart from these three, the other five women MLA’s, Tomar from Tri Nagar, Chandela from Rajouri Nagar, Tokas from RK Puram, Gaur from Palam, and Kumari from Shalimar Bagh also do not figure in the new cabinet.
