Modi's BJP courts India's rising election power: Women

Ranika Jaiswal, 48, a treasurer in Uttar Pradesh women's wing of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), poses for a photograph inside the party's office in Lucknow, India, April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ranika Jaiswal's family in Varanasi has boasted a string of officials in India's ruling BJP party over the last four decades. Now she wants a piece of the action.

"Three generations of my family, all men, have been with the party. But now it's changing - as a woman I am also equally invested," said the 48-year-old, who is seeking the support of party officials to stand as a lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 national election. "I think it's critical for more female candidates to contest."