Karnataka   

Equal representation still a distant dream for women

SIRSI: Equal representation remains a distant dream for women in Uttara Kannada district.

Only 10 women have contested Assembly elections in the district in the last 50 years and three of them have won. The number of men who have contested elections in the district in the same period is 233.

Women aspirants in all political parties have been raising their voice time and again to seek adequate representation. However, their plea has not been honoured so far.

Vasantalata V. Mirjankar was the first woman MLA from the district. She was elected in 1957 from Kumta constituency. She was re-elected in 1962. However, she lost to independent candidate R.M. Hegde in the 1967 elections.

In 1972, Radha Mahabaleshwar Bhat of Gunjgod won from Ankola constituency. In 1978, Ansuya Gajanan Sharma was elected to the Legislative Assembly on the Janata Party ticket.

The women who contested unsuccessfully in the district are Vidya Narvekar from Ankola in 1972; Indira Narasimha Bhat from Ankola in 1989; Jyoti Guru Naik from Karwar, Laxmi Manjappa Naik from Bhatkal and Sumana Madev Hegde from Kumta in 1994; and Marie Rebello from Ankola in 2004.

No woman has contested from Sirsi and Haliyal constituencies.

According to the latest revision of the electoral rolls, there are 9,47,713 voters in the district and 4,61,715 of them are women.

Gayatri Gouda, president of zilla panchayat, has been denied the Congress ticket from Kumta constituency and Vanita Naik has been denied the party ticket from Bhatkal.

Janata Dal (Secular) has denied ticket to Rajeshwari Hegde from Sirsi and Prema Naik from Kumta.

Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party has given ticket to Ms. Sumana Hegde to contest from Kumta constituency.

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