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Sunday, May 10, 2009
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Raw deal for women

Sujay Mehdudia
KANGRA

In Himachal, the BJP and the Congress have not fielded any women

Women voters constitute nearly half (49 per cent) of the electorate in Himachal Pradesh and are pro-active when it comes to voting, but they have been given a raw deal when it comes to giving them tickets.

Both the ruling BJP and the Congress have not fielded a single woman for any of the four Lok Sabha seats of Shimla (SC), Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur, for which polling will be held on May 13.

From working in the fields, to tending livestock and running households, women play a very important role in this northern hill State. They are also more likely to vote than men, especially in the rural areas.

“The BJP government increased reservation in panchayats for women from 33 per cent to 50 per cent keeping in mind their contribution to the State’s development and welfare. It is a step towards empowerment of women,” says Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The sitting MP from Mandi constituency, Pratibha Singh, declined to contest this time.

Prior to this, the Congress fielded woman candidates thrice after Himachal Pradesh achieved Statehood in 1971. They were Chandresh Kumari — twice for the Kangra seat (1984 and 1989) — and Pratibha Singh from Mandi (1998). The BJP has never fielded a woman candidate in a parliamentary election in the State.

Himachal Pradesh Congress president Kaul Singh said the party had decided to allot tickets to all the sitting MPs, but Ms. Singh opted out. However, he pointed out that the party had a woman Rajya Sabha member in Viplove Thakur and Vidya Stokes was the Congress Legislature Party leader.

Himachal Pradesh has 2,239,959 women voters in a total electorate of 4,541,072.

The highest number of women voters, 5,89,158, is in Kangra, followed by Hamirpur (5,84,261), Mandi (5,42,577) and Shimla (5,23,963).

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