After addressing election rallies in Bihar on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a mega Naari Shakti Samvaad event at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit College in Varanasi. It was attended by nearly 25,000 women voters, mostly from eastern Uttar Pradesh which will go to the polls on May 25 and June 1. The most significant point was that the entire event was conducted by women. Modi spoke only about the development of Kashi (Benares) and what his government did for the upliftment of women (Matri Shakti). Modi said, women as ‘Matri Shakti’ (Mother Force) have always been the mainstay of India’s cultural ethos. ‘India’, he said, ‘derives it power from Matri Shakti’. Modi told women voters how his government ensured big savings for women despite inflation. “The Congress rule was infamous for price rise and people used to say ‘Congress Aayi, Mehengai Laayi’. Had the Congress been in power now, your kitchen budget would have doubled or tripled, but Modi ensured that your expenses remain low and your savings should increase”. Modi said, “every family is now saving Rs 12,000 annually under free ration scheme, while Ujjwala LPG cylinder scheme has ensured savings of more than Rs 300 per cylinder. Jan Aushadhi Kendras are ensuring savings of 80 per cent on medicines, and piped kitchen gas is also ensuring savings”. On the other hand, Modi lashed out at Samajwadi Party’s rule in UP, when women were not safe on the streets and incidents of sexual assault used to take place. Modi said, “though Baba Vishwanath rules Kashi, Maa Annapurna ensures that the lives of people go on smoothly. If not a single home can run without your help, how can the nation run without you? Congress and SP governments ignored women and created insecurity in their minds. The very mindset of INDI alliance is anti-women. INDI parties had opposed 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures. Whenever these parties come to power, women find themselves unsafe. The people of Benares know the ‘jungle raaj’ that existed in both UP and Bihar. Mothers and daughters found themselves unsafe on the streets. Many of our daughters had to leave their studies and stay at home, out of fear of eve-teasers. SP leaders used to say, boys are after all boys, and they do make mistakes. Let the SP boys commit the same mistakes today. Yogi’s government will teach them lessons that they never thought of in their dreams.” In his speech focussing on women voters, Modi said, “For 60 years, Congress governments did not realize that the nation cannot run without the help of women. During the last 10 years, mothers, sisters and daughters have come centrestage in our government’s policies and decisions. This issue may not have been discussed much, but the fact remains that women have been a major factor behind India’s success story.” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present on the dais, when the Prime Minister was speaking to women. Women voters in not only UP, but in many states of India, have always been staunch supporters of Modi. With two phases of polling now remaining, Modi wants to reach out to his core base among women voters. One must remember, what Modi said when he won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Modi had then said that he attributed his success to the massive support that he received from nearly half the voters who were women across the country. Tuesday’s Naari Shakti Samvaad was a manifestation of Modi’s focus on women.