In patriarchal Haryana where the government is making efforts to save the girl child, the ruling BJP has, for the first time, handed over the reins of the state unit to Archana Gupta, associated with the party for over 15 years. She has completed one month in office.
A dental surgeon, she rose to occupy the position, four decades after the first woman state party chief, Kamla Gupta, who was in the saddle in the 1980s. The BJP’s decision to appoint Archana Gupta is being seen as a strategy to expand its outreach among women and youth. Though this is on her priority list, the immediate challenge lies elsewhere. She has identified improving the BJP’s performance in the five Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly segments the party lost in 2024 as her foremost priority.
“While expanding the party’s base by bringing in more women and youngsters into the fold is a focus area, I have my eyes set on improving the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies while building a stronger organisational structure,” she told The Tribune.
Her rise in the BJP has been quite swift. After practising as a dentist in Panipat since 1994, she remained associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and was in the forefront of social initiatives. “Being a doctor, I was involved in organising health check-up camps, camps for menstrual hygiene and breast cancer awareness campaigns, plantation drives and blood donation camps. I joined the VHP in 2010 and continued with these activities before entering active politics in 2016,” she said.
“Women constitute half of the population. Ensuring their greater participation in active politics will be my priority. We want to first engage women and youth through social activities and outreach programmes before preparing them for organisational responsibilities,” she said.
Claiming that the exercise has already begun, she said she had visited 22 districts since she took over and planned to cover the remaining districts in the coming days.
Asked if the patriarchal social structure could pose a challenge to a woman leading the state unit, she dismissed the notion. “I have received overwhelming support everywhere. Male and female workers alike have welcomed me. I have not experienced any patriarchal attitude within the organisation,” she stated.
Talking about party issues, she downplayed the absence of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh and his MLAs from a recent function attended by Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and CM Nayab Saini in Rewari. “It appears to be the result of a communication gap. The party is looking into the matter,” she said.
Asked if the party will work in the background since the BJP is in the government, she said, “We are going to extend a helping hand. We are gearing up for the HTET exam and will offer whatever assistance is needed.”
