The Hindu : National : Fewer women are re-elected due to de-reservation: study

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Fewer women are re-elected due to de-reservation: study

Aarti Dhar

NEW DELHI: The rotation of seats reserved for women in the Panchayati Raj institutions should be discontinued as only 15 per cent of women are re-elected from a de-reserved seat, an official study has suggested.

Reservation is an opportunity to bring women into the mainstream. It provides them with a platform to interact and enhance their image. But it becomes more meaningful when they can sustain their political activity through re-election, the study “Elected Women Representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions” conducted for the Union Panchayati Raj Ministry by AC NeilsenORG-Marg has said.

The report, released by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi here on Thursday, said 85 per cent of women representatives were first-timers and only 15 per cent were re-elected because their seats were de-reserved in the next round.

The data has shown that the duration of political involvement is directly proportionate to the performance of women representatives.

Reservation has played a significant role, as four-fifths of all representatives were elected from reserved seats. Reservation facilitates the first entry into politics for most elected representatives (83 per cent). However, this was not true during the second or third term, as only 45 per cent and 58 per cent respectively were elected from the reserved seats. Reservation emerged as an important motivator (43 per cent) for contesting the first election and its withdrawal was an important reason for not contesting (39 per cent).

High performers

On the performance index, the high performers among elected women were from Kerala, followed by Karnataka, Tripura, Maharashtra, Sikkim and West Bengal.

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