AAP pulled off a third win in the capital recently, and by a huge margin to boot. What’s interesting to note is that a large percentage of the people who voted for the party were women. That’s not surprising, considering Kejriwal and his party have consistently appealed to women voters – promising free bus rides and guaranteeing safety.
What is surprising however, is his reportedly all-male cabinet, despite having 8 women candidates who won, including star candidate Atishi.
According to a survey conducted by Lokniti-CDS, women voters gave AAP a 25% point lead against BJP. This means their victory margin would have been much lower if only men had voted.
Despite the contribution that women have made to the AAP campaign, the cabinet has apparently remained the same, and will not include a single woman. People on Twitter had choice words for the situation.
AAP is strange. Atishi is one of their recognizable faces. And no women in the cabinet. Shame really!
— Sangita (@Sanginamby) February 14, 2020
I’m disappointed in #AAP‘s cabinet.
— Arya Suresh (@RantingDosa) February 15, 2020
I really thought that @AtishiAAP would become the education minister. This is a HUGE let down!
One of the issues which aap pushed for was women safety – even now i can hear kejriwal thanking women for voting for him – what stopped him from inducting women into his cabinet ?
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) February 15, 2020
No women minister in @ArvindKejriwal cabinet .What is this #Aap ?
— Kamalika Sengupta (@KamalikaSengupt) February 14, 2020
Considering the immeasurable contribution of women across social stratas in helping AAP achieve a landslide victory, it’s disappointing to see that there’s probably not a single woman on the cabinet. While portfolios will be decided later, establishing a woman minister lends more gravitas, and sends the message that you value the people who actually voted for you.
