As per statistics released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), in the ongoing Assembly Elections 2019 in Jharkhand, only about 11.2 per cent women are contesting elections in the State in the second phase of polls taking place in 20 constituencies. In the last elections held in 2014, about 12.7 per cent female candidates were a part of the elections.
“It is a common belief that politics is a very dirty industry and it is not considered very appropriate for women to be a part of this game. Any political party be it at the Centre or State level, though talks of giving a 33 per cent reservation to women, but at the same time, all political parties are apprehensive of giving women candidates a ticket to contest the elections, because of which they do not get an opportunity to come to the fore front,” said Sudhir Pal State Cordinator ADR, Jharkhand Election Watch.
Pal further added that in a State like Jharkhand, women are incapable of managing adequate funds required for conducting rallies and interacting with the masses, because of which they are not entertained and taken seriously by the voters.
“However, in the neighbouring States, some of the regional political parties have given tickets to the female candidates to contest General and Assembly elections. Only by allowing them to be a part of the elections will women get a chance to prove their mettle. This will go a long way in instilling confidence in them,” he added.
The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is fielding seven women candidates in the elections including Dr Neera Yadav from Koderma and Dr Louis Marandi from Dumka.
“In the last elections, there were six candidates, this time there are seven. The number of women candidates is not less. It all also depends on the decisions taken by the senior party members,” said a BJP member on the condition of anonymity.
On the other hand the Congress is supporting six female candidates this elections. Deepika Singh Pandey from Mahagama, Godda district and Mamta Devi from Ramgarh among others are contesting the elections.
“In our society, men have always dominated women and women have always been told to only do the household work and not venture out of the house. In the past few years, there has been a drastic change in this trend and women are now working with men with equal fervor. Women need to work for the betterment of the people in their respective constituencies because only then will a party also consider them for the elections,” said a member of Congress requesting not to be named.
