Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, expressed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) commitment, highlighting the party’s openness to providing opportunities for disabled individuals to contest elections. During the Purple Festival, CM Sawant emphasized that the BJP is willing to consider allowing disabled individuals to participate in future elections.
Encouraging disabled individuals to contribute their leadership skills to the democratic process, CM Sawant stated, “If a Divyang (disabled person) comes forward and takes the initiative to lead people, then BJP can definitely think of allowing them to contest in the election. There’s no specific criteria for ticket allocation; the individual should step forward to take the lead.”
When questioned about the inclusion of disabled female candidates in the 33 percent Women Reservation Bill, the Chief Minister responded, “First and foremost, the clearance of the 33% Women Reservation Bill was crucial. Subsequently, we would consider proposing the inclusion of disabled candidates in the bill. Regarding inclusivity, if any of our disabled citizens aspire to run for office in the future, we may start at the panchayat level and progress to the Zilla panchayat, State assembly, and Lok Sabha.”
