Guwahati, May 7 (IANS) Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog on Thursday said the increase in the number of women legislators elected on Bharatiya Janata Party tickets in the Assam Assembly polls reflects growing public confidence in the party’s governance and leadership.

Speaking to reporters here, Neog said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s improved electoral margin in the state was a “historic achievement” and credited the victory to the efforts of party workers at all organisational levels.

“The victory margin has increased significantly this time. This is a historic mandate and the credit goes to the leadership and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party from the grassroots to the top level,” she said.

The minister congratulated party workers for their extensive campaigning and organisational efforts during the elections and said the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma played a major role in strengthening public support for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government.

According to Neog, welfare-oriented schemes and development initiatives undertaken by the state government over the past few years directly benefited people at the grassroots level and contributed to the party’s electoral success.

“The government’s policies and welfare measures reached ordinary citizens, and this strengthened people’s faith in the Bharatiya Janata Party,” she said.

Neog pointed out that seven women Members of the Legislative Assembly have been elected on Bharatiya Janata Party tickets this time, an increase from the previous Assembly, where the party had five women legislators.

She also referred to the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill and expressed disappointment that the legislation had not yet been implemented despite widespread expectations among women leaders and political workers.

“We had hoped that the Women’s Reservation Bill would be passed earlier. Unfortunately, that did not happen,” she said.

The finance minister alleged that opposition parties, particularly the Congress and some of its allies, lacked sincerity on the issue of women’s political representation.

At the same time, Neog praised Narendra Modi for taking initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment and said the proposed reservation framework would play a crucial role in enhancing women’s participation in politics.

She expressed confidence that greater representation of women in legislative bodies would strengthen democratic participation and policymaking in the future.

–IANS

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