NO MATTER that the combined Opposition has managed to defeat the Constitution Amendment Bill of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in the Lok Sabha, it is now being made to face a much bigger, country-wide narrative war launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to awaken public opinion in favour of the Bill that was tagged with the proposal for delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. Though the Opposition is still basking in the glory of its technical victory on the floor of the Lok Sabha, its leaders must be realising internally that they are up against a tough narrative put up by the BJP and its allies.

 

When two important States -- West Bengal and Tamil Nadu -- are about to go for legislative elections in the next few days, the massive public awareness campaign by the BJP about how the Opposition has defeated women’s cause is expected to help mobilise women voters in favour of the drive believed to be led personally by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Though the Opposition is also trying to launch a counter-narrative, it appears to have lost the initiative despite its success in defeating the Bill in the Lok Sabha -- thanks to the quick steps the BJP is taking to put forth its point of view for the people’s consideration. In fact, the Government had already started a nation-wide advertising campaign much before the Bill was put to numbers test in the Lok Sabha. Now, in the shadow of the defeat in Lok Sabha, the BJP is mobilising every possible tool in its hands to prove to the people how the Opposition is against the concept of women’s empowerment.

 

Joining the party’s campaign, Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr. Devendra Fadnavis announced at a media conference that the BJP and its allies in the State would launch a State-wide drive to collect signatures of as many as one crore women pledging support to the Women’s Reservation Bill. It is expected that the BJP would launch such a drive all over the country -- in close cooperation with its allies in the NDA. The attempt will be to create a compelling narrative in favour of reservation for women in legislatures -- which would be more easily achievable on the shoulders of delimitation of constituencies. Of course, it is given that the combined Opposition, too, would launch a counter-attack, all right. But an organised drive by the Opposition may not be possible immediately. Individually, the Opposition leaders are trying to counter the BJP during their election campaign speeches in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. But those speeches lack the punch the BJP drive is able to deliver. The BJP drive saw the Prime Minister addressing the nation on the issue, and awakening the public opinion in a very strong manner. The Opposition effort lacks that punch and power.

 

By the time the combined Opposition is able to put together its concerted counter campaign, the BJP will have half-served its purpose of awakening the people. Now the details are coming out in public domain -- about how old delimitation done on the basis of the 1971 census would not help in any manner; how the Opposition playing dirty tricks to avoid an honest 2026-census-based delimitation; of how the Opposition has often blocked several other moves in public interest for the past several decades, about how the main Opposition party -- the Congress -- has often acted against the interest of women (in different cases and issues). Each of those details is capturing people’s imagination of the damage the Opposition has caused to the concept of women’s empowerment. So successful is the BJP’s trust in the public awareness campaign that many political observers have even begun suspecting if the BJP had intentionally planned the strategy to move a Constitution Amendment Bill without adequate numbers -- so that the Bill would be defeated, and the BJP would get the opportunity to build its own public awareness campaign (to garner greater advantages). The Prime Minister very much wanted to launch the drive for greater benefits.