On the eve of International Women’s Day, Voice of the People Party (VPP) Chief Ardent Basaiawmoit underscored the party’s commitment to fostering greater participation of women in politics. Asserting that VPP does not believe in gender bias, he emphasized that the party actively identifies and encourages capable individuals, regardless of gender, to take on leadership roles. Amid growing discourse on women’s representation in governance, Basaiawmoit maintained that VPP goes beyond mere rhetoric and takes concrete steps to ensure inclusivity, stating, “The Voice of the People Party is trying to identify good people, irrespective of men and women. So, for us, we didn’t have that kind of thinking where women should be left out, but when we find that there are good women, we encourage them, we motivate them.”
He highlighted VPP’s approach to empowering women within the party, explaining that female members are not only invited to join but are also given assignments to actively contribute to party work and contest elections. Acknowledging the strong support the party receives from women voters, he stressed the need for shared responsibility in politics, saying, “We ask them to join us, not only to join but we give them assignments to work for the party, and even give a party ticket to contest elections. So, because we feel that as a party who receives good support from the women, we should take them along, we should share the responsibility with women also even in electoral politics. So, we are pro-women. We don’t only talk, but we walk the talk.”
Basaiawmoit further pointed to the party’s track record in the recently concluded MDC elections, where VPP fielded the highest number of women candidates. He also highlighted the unprecedented move by the party in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), where women have been given 100 percent representation in the Executive Committee, remarking, “And in this executive committee in KHADC, 100 percent of women are being inducted in the Executive Committee, so that itself indicates the mindset of the party or the leaders of the party about women.”
At the same time, the VPP has strongly refuted allegations from the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) that it intends to alter Meghalaya’s matrilineal customs. The accusations, which surfaced in the political discourse, were dismissed by Basaiawmoit as baseless and an example of misleading narratives used against the party. He asserted that VPP has always worked towards making people politically aware, unlike other parties that, he claimed, rely solely on propaganda.
“You see, we have been telling people that when we go to the people, even during elections, we educate the people, we make them more conscious about political processes, their political rights, the duties of an MLA or MDC, the rights of the people, and to make them more aware. Whereas other political parties, they don’t have anything to educate people, but they throw propaganda only. So, that is one of the political propagandas that our opponents were using during the election.”
Dismissing claims that VPP seeks to challenge the traditional matrilineal system, he made it clear that such discussions have never taken place within the party. He reiterated that VPP operates based on collective decision-making, and any major policy shift would require thorough deliberation within the party framework. “You see, we cannot just decide anything on flimsy ground or according to our whims and fancy. Anything that we decide, it is a decision of the party. Collectively, we discuss, we decide what type of issue we need to take up, what type of policy programs we need to discuss. So, there was no such discussion to convert or to change that tradition as far as the surname is concerned.”