Women seem to have received a raw deal from two principal national parties - the Congresses and the BJP - which are striving to capture power in Uttarakhand, the State whose formation will not have been possible but for the momentous role the women played during the long-drawn Statehood movement.
Out of 60 women candidates in the fray for 70 seats up for grabs in the State, the two rival national parties contribute 11 with the ruling Congress having fielded six and BJP just five.
Notably, there are 637 candidates in the poll fray this time. Out of 60 women candidates, the share of the independents is 31 while the SP has fielded six women candidates with the BSP and the UKD’s shares being two each.
Maximum 14 candidates have filed nominations from Haridwar and Dehradun districts while two districts - Champawat and Uttarakashi - have no woman candidate in the fray.
While eight women candidates are contesting from nine different constituencies spread across Udham Singh Nagar district the figures are five for six constituencies in Nainital district, four for six constituencies in Almora district, three for four constituencies in Pithoragar district and six for six constituencies in Pauri district.
The Congress fielded six women candidates in the previous 2012 face-off - the same as that of the present election — while the figure of the BJP has come down from the previous six to five in this election.
As for the BJP, many women leaders who were in the forefront of the Statehood and other movements that transformed the socio-political landscape of the mountain State have been given a short shrift, sending them to sulk.
For instance, an important State BJP woman leader and the former State Woman Commission president Sushila Baluni has been kept out of the fray. Angered over the party denying her ticket, another important woman BJP leader and incumbent MlA from Yamkeshwar constituency Vijay Brathwal had revolted against the party and chosen to pitch in the fray from the seat as an independent. later, she was, however, persuaded to withdraw by the party’s top brass.
Shilpi Arora was one of the Congress leaders eyeing tickets, given their long-time association with the party. Arora’s eyes were focused on Kichchha seat in Udham Singh Nagar district. However, she was denied ticket as none other than Chief Minister Harish Rawat pitched in the seat as the candidate. Annoyed, she submitted her nomination papers from Kichcha seat against the CM. later, she was coaxed to withdraw.
Commenting on the women receiving an unfair deal in this democratic engagement, Kiran Sood, head of Political Science, MKP (PG) College, said political representation and participation of the women being vital for their socio-economic empowerment, the present situation is sad. “The monumental contribution of the women in the formation of the state aside from their epoch-making role in Chipko Movement and the like should have been taken into account while the parties prepared their poll lists. Besides, women here are more active in household chores than their male counterparts. This fact can hardly be overlooked,” she said.