http://www.mardtheparty.com/ 
Key Highlights
- “Efforts will be made to bring the Men’s Security Bill,” said MARD national president Kapil Mohan Chaudhary
- A ‘Men’s Helpline’ will also be introduced, added Chaudhary
- The MARD national president underlined that they are not against the empowerment of women
Lucknow: A little-known political party in Uttar Pradesh said it will create a ministry for men’s welfare if it is voted to power.
As a party registered in 2018, the ‘Mera Adhikar Rashtriya Dal’ (MARD) had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Lucknow and Varanasi. ‘Mard’ is the Hindi word for man.
The party has named candidates for the four Assembly constituencies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh — Bareilly, Lucknow North, Handia in Prayagraj and Chauri-Chaura in Gorakhpur. The party may announce more candidates in the future.
“If voted to power- Ministry of Men’s Welfare and National Commission for Men will be constituted, so that men’s side could also be deliberated upon while forming any policy and law,” party’s national president Kapil Mohan Chaudhary told news agency PTI.
While talking about other highlights in the party’s manifesto, he said that “policies concerning the well being, security and dignity of men will be made accordingly. Efforts will be made to bring the Men’s Security Bill.”
A “Men’s Helpline” will also be introduced in order to address the issues that men face as a result of some women’s laws that are “biased”, said Chaudhary.
Chaudhary explained the reason for his entry into the election process. “It is to empathise and sympathise with half of the population. We are not against the empowerment of women. But, when in the name of women empowerment, harassment of men starts, we take exception to it. We are definitely in favour of positive empowerment of women such as education.”
“Provision will be made to make maintenance amount tax-free,” Chaudhary said and pointed out that Indian divorce maintenance rules stipulate that alimony (maintenance) must be paid to a spouse during or after a separation or divorce.
Chaudhary further criticised the Congress’ slogan ‘Ladki Hoon Ladh Sakti Hoon’, while praising the Modi government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign.
The anti-male propaganda will be stopped under the guise of appeasing women, he said.
The party has also announced that instead of giving homework to children, ‘Dada-Dadi’ Pathshala will be established at the village/colony level, so that children will be able to learn from their grandparents’ experiences.
“This will help the grandparents to overcome their loneliness, and will also facilitate in making children move away from the world of mobile phones. This will strengthen the social structure,” he said.
Moreover, the MARD chief stated that efforts would be made to strengthen the tradition of joint families.
Chaudhary responded when asked about Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s ‘Ladhki Hoon, Ladh Sakti Hoon’ slogan, saying: “What is the point in using the word ‘ladhai” (fight). It can be ‘padhai’ (education). You should educate the girls. In this context, we can understand the good theme of ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (campaign).”
Ashutosh Pandey, who ran for election to the Lok Sabha from Varanasi in 2019, claimed that the party also enjoyed women’s support, saying, “All of my proposers (during the filing of nomination papers) were women.”
“We are also making people aware about the frequent misuse of the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code,” Pandey said
On a lighter note, he said, “I got 498 general votes and 1 postal ballot. In other words, I got ‘498A’ votes” in the 2019 polls.
There are four candidates declared by the party for the UP polls, including Javed Hasan from Bareilly, Brijesh Awasthi from Lucknow North, Vinay Kumar Singh from Handia in Prayagraj, and Sonu Rai from Chauri-Chaura in Gorakhpur.
The party chief said it may announce more candidates.
In Uttar Pradesh, Assembly Elections will be held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7, and the results will be announced on March 10.