Election Time ‘Special for Women’ | Power Play by Anand Mishra

Dear readers,

Judging by the election noise in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, you might think women have suddenly become the secret sauce of Indian politics. From outreach projects to campaign slogans, every party seems to have discovered that half of its voters are women; who knew?

Let it be the BJPbeti, roti, aur maati” campaign and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Maiya Samman Yojana (MSY) in Jharkhand or the Eknath Shinde-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s Ladki Bahin scheme in Maharashtra, women voters have become a top priority for political parties.

I remember how the Ladli Behna Yojana in Madhya Pradesh boosted the flagging fortunes of Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections, bringing them to power and proving all the political pundits wrong. It looks like both Jharkhand and Maharashtra may see a similar play of women power in these elections.

In Jharkhand, women’s voter turnout was higher in about 68 of the 81 Assembly segments, or about 85 per cent of the seats. Women voted about 5.5 percent more than men. While the ruling JMM pays Rs 1,000 to women under MSY and promises to increase this figure to Rs 2,500 per month if voted to power, the BJP has introduced a new scheme “Gogo Didi Yojana” (gogo means “mother” in Santhali).

Jharkhand currently has 10 women MLAs; this is more than double the four in 2000 when the state split from Bihar (along with Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively). It ranks third among States in terms of female representation in terms of percentage of parliamentary strength. Among first-time voters, women outnumber men in all 81 House seats; In 32 Parliament seats, the proportion of female voters is higher than that of men.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, party leader Rajnath Singh, who is campaigning for the BJP candidate in Pune, praised the Shinde government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana and talked about how the Narendra Modi-led Central government passed the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam Bill giving 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament he emphasized. Assemblies.

“We cannot realize the dream of Viksit Bharat by leaving half the population behind. (The) Congress was talking about: nari shaktiBut they are not taking necessary steps to empower women, Singh said.

Taking a cue from the Trinamool Congress’ “Maa, Maati, ManushWith the slogan (Mother, Motherland, People), the BJP is a “Roti, Beti, Maati(livelihood, women’s welfare, homeland) campaign in Jharkhand. But it wasn’t all benign. Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed: “Maati, BetiAnd rotiHe said the tribal people were under threat from illegal immigrants and only the BJP would provide them security. The campaign, which the BJP launched in September, also included asking women to raise money. maati (soil) and akshat (blessed rice) will be offered at the famous Chinnamasta temple in Rajrappa to pray for the protection of the land and women of Jharkhand.

However, political parties have little confidence that female candidates, especially those without political affiliations, can win. In Jharkhand, female candidates were mostly wives, daughters or daughters-in-law of known male politicians. In Maharashtra, both the NDA and INDIA blocs (Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi respectively) gave women only 8 per cent of the ticket. The number of women MLAs may increase slightly from the 23 the state had in 2019.

India has seen some strong female Chief Ministers, from the maverick Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal to the mercurial Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh, India’s first female Dalit Chief Minister. And who can forget Jayalalithaa, who ruled Tamil Nadu for over 14 years for six terms with a firm grip on her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam?

Despite this, and the fact that women’s welfare programs are included in every party’s manifesto, the commodification of women in political discourse continues to rear its ugly head. There was much controversy around comments derogatory to women in both States.

In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant courted controversy after he used the term “imported product” for former BJP leader Shaina NC, who is contesting as the candidate of BJP ally Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The NDA condemned the alleged sexual innuendos in the quote and Sawant apologized, claiming that her statements had been misinterpreted.

Another Shiv Sena candidate, Suvarna Karanje, has filed a complaint with the Chief Election Officer against Shiv Sena (UBT) rival candidate Sunil Raut from Vikhroli. He claimed that he was looking for him bakri (goat), not only humiliates her dignity, but also suggests violence. An FIR has been registered against Raut, brother of senior party leader Sanjay Raut.

In Jharkhand’s Jamtara seat, where Shibu Soren’s eldest daughter-in-law Sita Soren is the BJP candidate against Congress’s Irfan Ansari, police filed an FIR against Ansari for calling Sita a “rejected element”. Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba condemned Ansari’s remarks. Crying in public, Sita Soren called it an “insult to the women of the tribal community”.

Amidst the din of campaign noise, one thing is clear: Women’s political empowerment remains largely limited to slogans, and political discourse continues to reflect gender discrimination and the commodification of women. With the curtain falling on high-octane election campaigns in both states that briefly brought the issue of women empowerment to the fore, the issue is likely to fade away by the next election.

As former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “There can be no true democracy unless women’s voices are heard. There can be no true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives. There can be no true democracy unless all citizens can fully participate in the life of their country.”

Votes will be counted tomorrow, but can anyone count what has actually changed for half of our population? Write us your thoughts.

Anand Mishra | Political Editor

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