BJP’s Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri has done it again. Months after directing slurs at MP Danish Ali, his remarks on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Delhi chief minister Atishi have now reportedly triggered disquiet within sections of the BJP.
Three days after his remarks, the Delhi Chief Election Commissioner, while announcing the schedule, cautioned parties to not use derogatory language against women.
But can such remarks impact an election? Newslaundry spoke to women voters in Kalkaji, where Bidhuri is in a triangular contest against AAP’s Atishi and Congress leader Alka Lamba.
Kalkaji has a total of 84,031 women electors. In the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, the percentage of women in Kalkaji who voted stood at 57.82 percent, slightly higher than men’s voting percentage of 57.14 percent. In the 2020 polls, experts had noted that women in Delhi had voted overwhelmingly in favour of AAP, far more than male voters. A poll-eve survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS had also found that women were 11 percentage points more likely to have voted for AAP in the last assembly polls as compared to men.
‘Not the first time’
“This is not the first time that Bidhuri has insulted other politicians. He has done it before, but talking about Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks in a political context is wrong and makes no sense”, said Prakriti Anand, who is a teacher in a private school. Echoing Anand’s sentiments, her househelp Radha, said, “I think in a country where women are worshipped, such statements make no sense”.
In a clip that went viral earlier this week, Bidhuri could be heard saying, "I promise you that I will build (each) road of Kalkaji" smooth "like the cheeks of Priyanka Gandhi." He then targeted Atishi for dropping her surname Marlena and using Singh instead. “Marlena has become Singh… She changed her father. As the remarks drew condemnation from the AAP and the Congress, Bidhuri quickly apologised. He also took to X to express “regret”, tagging BJP national president J P Nadda, Delhi BJP in charge Baijayant Panda, and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva in the post.
Meanwhile, reacting to Bidhuri’s comments on Gandhi, 30-year-old Rashmi Sharma, a resident of Block A Double Storey, said, “I may not be very politically aware, but as a woman I know this is not right.” She said such comments could affect her voting behaviour to an extent “because if someone can’t respect a woman, what else can you expect from them?”
Just a few buildings from Sharma’s house stands a signboard with pictures of Atishi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. Pointing to Atishi, Monica Saxena, who runs a beauty parlour in the area, said, “She is the current CM of Delhi, and to say that she has changed her father could be one of the worst insults. Maybe politicians need to think before they speak.”
In a press conference on Monday, Atishi broke down over Bidhuri’s comments and said, “I want to tell Ramesh Bidhuri that my father has been a teacher throughout his life. He has taught thousands of children from poor and lower-middle-class families. Today, he is 80 years old and in fragile health…he cannot even walk without help. He (Bidhuri) has resorted to abusing an elderly man. I never thought politics in this country could descend to this level.”
But Bidhuri on Tuesday termed Atishi’s response “a drama”. “The people of Delhi want to get rid of 'AAP-da' as soon as possible... Chief Minister Atishi is shedding crocodile tears. These people only play the victim card and do drama.”
Commenting on Bidhuri’s remarks, flower-seller Pushpa Kumari said, “Dragging a woman’s family into politics is a lowly thing to do. Even if you are a politician, one should be careful about the language they use.” Her daughter, Ritu Kumari, a first-time voter in this election, said, “As a new voter, I am not very politically savvy, but I want to vote for someone who fights on real issues and does not disrespect women like this.”
Ritu’s indignation with Bidhuri’s comments resonated with some other young voters too. Nineteen-year-old Simran Kaur, a student of Delhi University’s Ramanujan College, also called Bidhuri’s comments on Gandhi disrespectful. “When I first heard about the matter on some news outlet’s YouTube channel, I wasn’t very sure about it, but when I saw the clip for myself, I found it very disrespectful.”
Her friend Pariza Iman was not aware of Bidhuri’s recent statements but remembered the politician as “the MP who used derogatory words against a Muslim leader in the parliament”.
‘All politicians the same’
Not every voter Newslaundry spoke to dismissed Bidhuri’s comments.
“Everyone votes for the party they want to despite what a politician says. Be it a man or a woman, all politicians are the same who insult and shame each other all the time,” said homemaker Rupali Krishna.
Hanging out with her friends outside her college in Kalkaji, history student Sakshi said she didn’t have the time “to focus on such things”. “We have exams going on. What makes you think we have had the time to focus on such things?” she asked this reporter. Her two friends nodded.
“For common people like us, our day starts with work and ends with work. We hardly get any time to focus on politics,” said 30-year-old Pooja, who works at a salon. Her other four colleagues said they did not know anything about Bidhuri’s remarks.
Newslaundry had earlier reported how Bidhuri attended rallies and events while failing to appear before Parliament’s privileges committee after he passed comments against MP Danish Ali.
Liked this report? Support our new Sena project to help us uncover issues and voices that usually get lost in a high-octane campaign.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
