Politicians cutting across party lines talk about empowering women through 33 per cent representation for them in Parliament but when it comes to giving women more chances to contest the elections, most of the parties have failed to do so in Uttarakhand.
This time only four women candidates have been fielded by various political parties in Uttarakhand. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and heads of other political parties talk about women’s empowerment and ensuring their presence in Parliament. However, parties like BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Samajwadi Party and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar faction) have fielded just one woman candidate each out of five lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand which amounts to 20 per cent representation to women.
Congress is yet to declare its candidates from three parliamentary constituencies but sources averred that the party may field Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s wife Renuka Rawat or his daughter Anupama Rawat from Haridwar lok Sabha seat.Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is headed by a woman but in Uttarakhand not a single woman candidate has been fielded by the party in the lok Sabha elections.
Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (M) and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Airy faction) have declared their candidates’for the parliamentary polls but women candidates were not fielded.Mala Rajlakshmi Shah was fielded by the BJP from Tehri in the 2012 parliamentary bypolls and lok Sabha election 2014 because she belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Tehri and is seen as a sure bet by the party.
SP candidate Anita Saini was not the party’s first choice for the Haridwar lok Sabha seat but was fielded because of significant number of Saini population in western Uttar Pradesh and Haridwar apart from which the previous SP candidate Azmal Shahnawaz has been undergoing treatment for a serious injury.
AAP also talks about women’s representation but party has given single ticket to woman candidate- former Uttarakhand DGP Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya from Haridwar. UKD (P) has fielded its single woman candidate Ranjana Devi from Almora.
Pramila Rawat, member of UKD said, “I have been working selflessly for the party since 1997. I was very active during statehood agitation. This year, I had demanded a ticket from Tehri lok Sabha seat but I was ignored by the party.” She further said that every party is reluctant when it comes to fielding women candidates.
Mahila Congress Uttarakhand president, Sarojini Kaintyura said,” In the party meeting, we had demanded that women candidates be fielded from Pauri, Tehri and Haridwar lok Sabha seats. Party may field either Renuka Rawat or Anupama Rawat from Haridwar. We are happy that our party will field at least one woman candidate,” she said.