As debate around the Women's Reservation Bill continues to dominate national politics, the BJP in Meghalaya has stopped short of committing to field a woman candidate in the upcoming by-election to the Shillong Parliamentary constituency — a seat that has not seen a BJP woman nominee in over 26 years.
The last time the party fielded a woman candidate in Meghalaya was in 1998, when Dr Elizabeth Laitflang was nominated for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat.
Addressing media in Shillong on Monday, BJP Meghalaya Prabhari Anil Antony said the selection of candidates was not a decision that rested with any single person, and depended on multiple factors involving both state and central leadership.
When specifically asked about the possibility of nominating a woman candidate, Antony said he was not aware of any such development.
He said several candidates would apply, and that the party's central election committee, along with state and national leadership, would take the final call to ensure the strongest possible candidate was put forward.
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Antony pushed back against any suggestion that the BJP had a weak record on women's participation, asserting that the party ensured equitable representation of women at every level — from national office-bearers down to booth-level positions.
He said many women had contested the last Meghalaya Assembly elections, expressed confidence that more BJP women MLAs would be elected in the state going forward, and claimed that the BJP has the highest number of women MPs and MLAs of any national party across India.
The Shillong by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting MP Ricky A J Syngkon on February 19, 2026 — less than two years after his victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
With the Women's Reservation Bill fresh in public discourse, the question of whether the BJP would use the by-election as an opportunity to field a woman candidate in a state where it hasn't done so in nearly three decades is likely to remain in focus as the selection process unfolds.