Guwahati: Despite having a large number of women voters in Assam, only 12 women candidates are standing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, down from 14 last time.
These 12 women candidates are contesting in 7 of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
The total electoral strength in Assam is 2,45,72,144 with 1,23,39,241 women voters and 1,23,25,293 men voters.
This decline in female candidates has continued since the 2014 poll, when there were 16 female candidates.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded a female candidate, Bijli Kalita Mehdi, for the prestigious Guwahati seat, while the opposition Congress has nominated Mira Borthakur Goswami for Guwahati and Rosalina Tirkey for Kaziranga.
Among the smaller parties, Gana Suraksha Party gave tickets to two women, Hindu Samaj Party, Gana Sangram Parishad, SUCI(C), Voters Party gave tickets to one person each, independent parties There are three people.
Kaziranga is leading with three women candidates, followed by Guwahati and Kokrajhar (ST) with two each and Sonitpur, Dharan-Udalguri, Nagaon, Barpeta and Dhubri with one each.
There were four female candidates in the first phase of voting, two in the second phase and six in the third and final phase to be held on May 7.
Since the country’s first general elections were held, only 18 women candidates have represented the state in Lok Sabha so far, up from two in 2014 to one in 2019. and is on a decreasing trend.
However, the participation of women voters in the voting process has increased significantly, with a turnout of 79.92 percent in the first two phases of elections held on April 19 and 26.
In the first phase of polls conducted in five constituencies in Upper Assam, female voter turnout was high at 78.81 per cent as against 77.69 per cent for male voters. In the second phase, there were also five seats, with 85.55% of the vote for women and 84.41% for men.
Mira Borthakur Goswami, the Congress candidate from Guwahati, said that while her party had given tickets to two women, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had passed the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, had given tickets to one woman from the northeast. He pointed out that he only gave
“The Bharatiya Janata Party government treats women as vote banks, making them fear that their names will be removed from the scheme if they do not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party or attend election rallies. “It’s planting,” she claimed.
Goswami said he would support women’s participation in decision-making processes and work for their “economic protection and security.” Goswami, who is set to take on Bijli Kalita Mehdi, another woman candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said that although the Guwahati seat is not reserved for women, it has been represented by a woman since 2009. Ta.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mehdi said that in the past decade, no Bharatiya Janata Party government has focused on women by giving them various benefits, such as the ‘Orunodoi’ scheme, which gives women Rs 1,250 per month and encourages entrepreneurship. he claimed. Provide them with funds to become ‘Lakhpati Vaideos’ (Lakhpati Elders and Sisters).
He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has overwhelming support in urban areas and this time, women in rural areas have also benefited immensely from various schemes initiated by the Bharatiya Janata Party government both at the Center and in the states. He pointed out that he was very satisfied.
A woman activist said that although the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in Parliament in September last year, in the first general election since its “historic script”, all major political parties will give tickets to women candidates with a quota of 33. He pointed out that he didn’t make an effort. percent mark.
She said it’s true that women, including first-time voters and the elderly, form long lines outside polling stations in their best colorful clothes, often outnumbering men in separate lines. He said it was a very reassuring sight. It is important that more female candidates enter the fray.
Ahead of the polls, a group of women’s organizations in the state had prepared manifestos for women highlighting specific issues that would be included in the next government’s policies, but most political parties ignored these and mainly focused on I have been concentrating on submitting regular policy proposals. No concrete steps have been taken for the actual economic, social and political empowerment of women.
issued May 6, 2024, 06:54 IST
