Sushma Swaraj roars for 'Freedom from Congress'

With turban, posters of lions, Sushma Swaraj roars for 'Freedom from Congress'

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj , credited with being a powerful orator, used a party function in Delhi today to tell women from her party what she wants from them. Wearing a saffron turban and with a large poster of roaring lions in the background, she said, "We couldn't be part of the freedom struggle, we were born after 1947, but now be part of the freedom from Congress battle".

          She declared that, "The Rani of Jhansi fought to liberate India from the British. Today, we women will fight to liberate India from Congress".  Ms. Swaraj is among the opposition's big hitters, and is widely seen as someone whose chances at winning her party's prime ministerial nomination have been somewhat muted by the recent ascension of Narendra Modi from Gujarat to the national political landscape.

The 61-year-old is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and is close to BJP veteran LK Advani, who resisted June's move to make Mr. Modi the leader in charge of the party's election campaign. Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, president of the Shiv Sena, which is one of the BJP's oldest ally, had said recently that his party would prefer to see Ms. Swaraj as the opposition's choice for presumptive prime minister.

Mr. Modi, who is in his fourth term as Gujarat Chief Minister, is accused by detractors of failing to do enough to stop the communal riots in 2002 which killed hundreds of Muslims in his state. He recently said that he is satisfied that his administration and he had expended their best efforts in trying to stop the violence.

His critics within the party - and allies like Mr. Thackeray -feel that the blot of the riots makes Mr. Modi an unviable partner for regional parties who lean on Muslim voters. Without them, the opposition coalition fronted by the BJP - the National Democratic Alliance or NDA - may find it tough to pose a muscular challenge to the incumbent coalition anchored by the Congress.

Sushma Swaraj more admired than Sonia Gandhi, finds survey

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj was voted as the most admired female politician followed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in a survey conducted by shaadi.com.

The matrimonial website conducted the poll on the occasion of International Women's Day (March 8) to understand which successful Indian women are admired for striking a perfect balance between their career and their family life.

Sushma Swaraj got 36.28 percent of the votes as the most admired female politician closely followed by Sonia Gandhi (33.62 percent) and Jayalalitha (23.01 percent). The poll was conducted through 19,000 Indians.

Gourav Rakshit, chief operating officer (COO), shaadi.com said that, the survey seems to indicate that the Indian youth admire women who despite their celebrity status, connect with the masses in the digital space. The poll is part of the constant research that shaadi.com conducts in its attempt to gauge the preferences of its members.

In the corporate sector, Pepsico's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi got 71.63 percent votes as the most admired and successful businesswoman followed by Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita Ambani with 27.03 percent votes.

From Bollywood, model-turned-actress Malaika Arora Khan topped the list with 51.05 percent respondents voting for her, followed by actress Kajol, who got 42.03 percent of the votes.

In sports, London Olympics bronze medallist M.C. Mary Kom with 39.2 percent was voted as the most successful sportstar followed by tennis star Sania Mirza who got 34.28 percent and shooter Anjali Bhagwat, who got 20.72 percent votes.