SHE'S GOT NO TICKET TO RIDE

THE noticeable increase in the number of women voters in state and Lok Sabha elections over the past decade is a significant shift in behaviour.

- SHIKHA MUKERJEE

By declaring this change to be a manifestation of nari shakti, or women's power, political parties have conveniently appropriated the credit for empowering women without really having done much except following the rules and implementing targeted schemes.

Women, as an undifferentiated mass, are in focus as the campaign takes off for the Lok Sabha elections. Their value and role are measurable in ways that reflect the intensity of the competition in which the BJP has pitted itself against its previous tally― with slogans such as 'Abki baar 400 paar' for the NDA and against the disunited opposition of the Congress, regional parties and other smaller players. The entry and exit of these parties from the INDIA bloc makes their role ambiguous-sometimes a challenger, at other times a defender-because their roles vary across states.

In the run-up to the election season, from Narendra Modi to Mamata Banerjee, from Rahul Gandhi to Yogi Adityanath, women are now a significant component of the stock speech. The competition to attract women voters has intensified since 2019. The reason is the obviously increased visibility of women and their preference for parties that guarantee targeted benefits. In 2019, there was a 5.1 percent increase in women voters. In the state elections since then, their participation has increased.

There is, however, no evidence that political parties have nominated more women as candidates in state and assembly elections to keep pace with the change. Barring the Trinamool Congress, which fielded women in 40 percent of the seats in 2019 and less than 40 percent in the 2021 state elections, most political parties continue to believe women are less likely to win.