New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party (SP) has strengthened democracy by strengthening the opposition in the country, said Iqra Choudhary, who won the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana constituency.
The 29-year-old first-time member of Parliament defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Pradeep Chaudhary by a margin of over 69,000 votes. Choudhary, a postgraduate from SOAS, London, is the daughter of former Member of Legislative Assembly Begum Tabassum Hasan and sister of three-time MLA Nahid Hasan.
In an interview with HT, she said she would focus on women’s education and farmers’ issues in her consistency.
What will be your key focus areas as an MP for your constituency?
The constituency I come from is largely based on agriculture, with the majority of people being farmers. It is a sugarcane belt. Farmers here face persistent issues with delayed payments from sugar mills. Raising this issue will be my top priority in Parliament.
Personally, I would like to focus on improving higher education for women. Despite having co-ed colleges, the conservative nature of our area discourages families from sending their daughters to these institutions. We lack a dedicated institution for women, and I believe this needs to change. I plan to raise this issue with the government. I hope that every girl has the opportunity to pursue higher education in a supportive environment.
{{/usCountry}}Personally, I would like to focus on improving higher education for women. Despite having co-ed colleges, the conservative nature of our area discourages families from sending their daughters to these institutions. We lack a dedicated institution for women, and I believe this needs to change. I plan to raise this issue with the government. I hope that every girl has the opportunity to pursue higher education in a supportive environment.
{{/usCountry}}I will also focus on key development areas like connectivity and electricity. Despite claims of highway construction by the BJP, rural connectivity remains a challenge. Also, healthcare centres in my constituency are in dire need of attention.
The Samajwadi Party has played a key role in strengthening the opposition this time. What do you think worked for your party?
I am absolutely elated with our party’s performance and would like to congratulate everyone who has worked tirelessly, especially our party president, Akhilesh Yadav. His ‘PDA’ (Pichhda Dalit Alpsankhyak) slogan and the way tickets were distributed based on it have been fantastic. As a result, we have emerged as the third-largest party in the country.
I believe our party has strengthened democracy by strengthening the opposition. A lot of credit also goes to the people of Uttar Pradesh (UP), as it is the centre of power, and the state has shown that it understands the pressing issues of the country. The change has started in UP, and we won’t stop until the BJP is removed from power.
What do you think of SP’s prospects in the next UP assembly elections?
Given our strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections despite the Modi factor and issues like the Ram Mandir, I am optimistic. I foresee a significant shift in the 2027 assembly elections and am hopeful that we will form the government.
This time, the number of women MPs in Parliament has decreased. What do you think should be done to increase the representation of women in politics?
It is truly disappointing to see a decline in women’s representation. We cannot rely on the goodwill of parties and politicians to change this. We need stringent laws to make a real difference. Although the Parliament has passed the women’s reservation law, its implementation is still pending and could take a long time. Until we have strict, enforceable laws ensuring women can contest elections, I don’t believe we’ll see the change we need. We need to push for these laws and make gender equality in politics a reality.
With a strong opposition, what difference do you expect in the way Parliament will function this time?
As a first-time MP, I’m thrilled to be part of a Parliament with a robust opposition. It will be interesting to see regional parties like the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal-United being part of the ruling government. I hope this means discriminatory laws, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, will not be passed overnight anymore. These are promising signs for the opposition, our country, and our democracy.