Chandigarh: Ahead of the February 20 Punjab assembly polls, the state’s 96 lakh female voters make up 45% of the total electorate of 2.12 crore. Yet, the representation of women among the candidates contesting the election from mainstream parties is, once again, miniscule.
In 2017, only 29 female candidates contested from mainstream parties, which include the Congress, SAD-BJP, BSP and AAP. While some of them contested from traditionally male bastions, many female candidates were pitted against each other, contesting the same seats.
Only six of these female candidates – three each from the Congress and AAP – were able to win seats to the 117-member Punjab assembly in 2017.
In the 2022 polls, the total number of female candidates being fielded by these mainstream parties has seen only a modest increase to 37, despite the addition of a separate political front led by BJP.
The greatest share in this marginal increase has come from AAP which has fielded 12 female candidates (10%) compared to the eight (7%) it fielded in 2017.
The new BJP-led alliance has fielded a total of eight (7%) female candidates; six from the BJP (compared to the two it fielded in 2017) and one each from its alliance partners; Captain Amarinder Singh’s debutant Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s SAD-Sanyukt
The Congress’s tally of female candidates remains the same as it was in the 2017 polls; 11 (9%) while the SAD-BSP alliance have only fielded six female candidates (5%) compared to the eight they fielded in 2017.
Also read: BJP’s Idea of Wooing Punjab’s Hindus Is to Cause a Rift. Here’s How That’s Going
No political space; families not supportive
Senior BJP leader and former health minister in the previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab, Laxmi Kanta Chawla told The Wire that there are two major reasons why females could not break through the glass ceiling in Indian politics.
First, there is not much space for women in political parties. Men are thought to be more dominant in politics because they can win elections for their parties using money and muscle power. A recent analysis of the criminal and financial backgrounds of candidates, MPs and MLAs in Punjab elections since 2004 has revealed that money and muscle power have played a major role in the election outcomes in the state.
Secondly, Chawla said, women’s families do not encourage their participation in politics. “We have female reservations in local bodies and panchayat-level governments. But how many elected women are allowed to work independently by their husbands?” Chawla said.
She said that when she was the MLA from Amritsar, several of her female supporters became councillors but were not allowed to work freely.
Chawla said the system can only be changed if political parties themselves encourage female participation and make the space for change themselves.
“Right now, I don’t see it coming in any of the mainstream parties, including BJP. Wherever females have made political space, it is either because their husbands or fathers were in politics or they were already established in other careers. One will find very few cases where ordinary females rose from the ground and became MLAs or MPs. This is a failure of the political system in India” she added
She said Congress has done a good job in UP by reserving 40% of their seats for women but asked why they didn’t do the same in Punjab, Uttarakhand and other poll-bound states.
For Chawla, this shows they are not interested in promoting women participation per se and that the move was a one–time election ploy for a particular region.
Also read: By Reserving 40% Tickets for Women, Will Congress Change the Political Game in UP?
Political analyst Jagroop Sekhon said that women’s empowerment is missing from the agendas of political parties. Reservation for women in state assemblies and Parliament can bring about some change but political parties are not keen on it because politics has been reduced only to efforts to seize power by hook or crook, he said. All parties seek women’s votes but not women candidates.
In Punjab, too, political parties have been offering slew of measures to lure female voters, like Congress and SAD’s Rs 2000 per month promise and AAP’s Rs 1000 per month promise, but have not done much to increase female participation vis-a-vis contesting the elections.
Congress, SAD lists have mostly old names
In the Congress and SAD candidates’ lists, most of the names of women candidates are old hands in politics. Even those contesting for the first time come from established families.
For instance, of the 11 female candidates in the fray on Congress tickets, seven – Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra), Aruna Chaudary (Dina Nagar), Razia Sultana (Malerkotla), Harchand Kaur (Mehal Kalan SC), Indu Bala (Mukerian), Karan Kaur Brar (Muktsar) and Dr Manoj Bala Bansal (Maur) – have been active in politics for a long time.
Apart from them, Rupinder Kaur Ruby (Malout) recently joined the Congress from AAP and the three newcomers, too, carry family advantages. Malvika Sood, for instance, is the sister of actor Sonu Sood and Ranvir Kaur Mian (Budhlada) and Rajinder Kaur (Balluana) both come from political families within the Congress.
The Congress had the chance to increase its tally of women candidates, but dropped three female contestants, including a sitting MLA, in order to accommodate turncoats and relatives of senior party leaders.
Daman Bajwa from Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district, for instance, was a first-generation political leader. She lost the 2017 election but was hopeful for a party re-nomination since she claimed to have put in a lot of hard work in the last five years. However, she was denied a ticket in order to accommodate a party leader’s relative from the neighbouring constituency.
Fighting independently now, Bajwa told The Wire that it is very hard for a woman to make a career in politics. “Despite my hard work, it is sad that the party ignored me. But I will not easily back out,” she said
The Congress also dropped singer Satwinder Bitti from Sahnewal in Punjab’s Ludhiana district and instead, fielded Vikram Bajwa, son-in-law of former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.
Having been denied a ticket, Bitti questioned the Congress’ UP slogan of “Ladki hun, lad sakti hun” and was promoting nepotism and ignoring hard-working female candidates.
Further, Satkar Kaur, party MLA from Ferozepur (Rural) was dropped in order to accommodate former AAP candidate Ashu Banger, who switched sides despite getting ticket from the party,
While Congress spokesperson Raj Kumar Verka could not be reached for comments on the question of dropping several female contestants, the party’s senior leader Sunil Jakhar recently told the media, “I can only say that nobody has been denied a ticket because of their gender.”
Also read: Punjab: Can Congress and AAP’s Turncoat Picks Take on SAD Chief in Jalalabad?
Meanwhile, of SAD’s five female candidates, three of them – Jasdeep Kaur, Sunita Chaudhary and Ganieve Kaur – are first-timers, but they are all related to other Akali leaders.
Jasdeep (Khanna) was nominated after her husband, Yadwinder Singh Yadu, did not get permission to contest election due to criminal cases against him. Chaudhary (Balachaur) is the daughter-in-law of former Akali MLA, the late Chaudhary Nand Lal and Ganieve (Majitha), a last minute entrant, is the wife of senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Majithia had earlier filed his nomination from Majitha as well as Amritsar (East), where he would go up against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
However, Majitihia left his traditional seat to his wife after Sidhu challenged him to contest only from one seat, “if he has guts”.
The remaining two SAD female candidates – Bibi Jagir Kaur (Bholath) and Bibi Vaninder Kaur Loomba (Shutrana) – are old Akali leaders.
Also read: In Punjab Elections, The Sidhu Versus Majithia Clash Promises To Be Intense
AAP claims to promote homegrown female candidates
On the other hand, in AAP’s list of 12 female candidates, two of them – Baljinder Kaur (Talwandi Sabo) and Saravjit Kaur Manuke (Jagraon) – are sitting MLAs. Neena Mittal (Rajpura) contested unsuccessfully on the party ticket from the Patiala Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and Dr Baljit Kaur (Malout) is the daughter of former AAP MP Sadhu Singh.
Santosh Kataria (Balachaur) comes from an old Congress family. Her father, Ram Kishan Kataria, has been a two-time Congress MLA. She had contested elections on a Congress ticket from Balachaur in 2007, but lost.
The party claims the remaining seven female candidates are newcomers from ordinary families. AAP’s CM face Bhagwant Mann, in an official media statement, cited the example of the party’s candidate from Sangrur, Narinder Kaur Bharaj, who he claimed does her household chores before going to campaign for the election.
AAP’s candidate from Nakodar, Inderjit Kaur Maan, is particularly interesting. She has been the three-time sarpanch of Bir village in the constituency and gained prominence by developing it into a model village with help of funds from NRIs. She was earlier in the Akali Dal before switching over to AAP last year.
The AAP candidate from Kapurthala is retired additional sessions judge Manju Rana, who was also a chairperson of the Lok Adalat. She joined the party in September last year, following her retirement.
Ludhiana South candidate Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina has been associated with the party ever since the Anna Hazare-led movement gave birth to AAP. She is contesting for the first time.
Apart from them, Jeevanjot Kaur, who has also been long associated with the party, got a ticket for the first time from Amritsar (East), the constituency where Sidhu is the sitting MLA.
Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora (Moga) is also female AAP leader entering the fray for first time, going up against the Congress’s Malvika Sood.
Besides, singer Anmol Gagan Maan (Kharar), who joined AAP last year, is also among their candidates for the upcoming polls.
Mix of old and new faces in BJP
In the BJP-led front list, Renu Kashyap (Dina Nagar) is the daughter-in-law former BJP MLA Seema Ram Kashyap. Namisha, a candidate from Garshankar is a Congress turncoat and Seema Kumari (Bhoa) is a former party MLA.
Meanwhile, Balwinder Kaur (Attari), Poonam Manik (Nawashehr) and Vandana Sangwann (Ballunana) are all first timers.
The PLC has field Farzana Alam Khan from Malerkotla, who is former SAD MLA and Dhinda’s SAD (Sanyukt)’s only female candidate, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan from Jaitu, is a former Akali leader and former Faridkot MP.
