Only 9 among 80 Bihar candidates women

Tribune News Service

Aksheev Thakur

New Delhi, April 11

Bihar may be witnessing a consistent trend of female voters surpassing their male counterparts, but the state has a long way to go when it comes to offering even a semblance of fair political representation to women.

12 in 2014, 11 in 2019

• The number of women candidates was 12 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and 11 in 2019. Out of 80 candidates announced for 40 constituencies of Bihar this time, only nine are women.
• The gender skew is stark, considering women voters in Bihar have surpassed men for the past three Assembly elections.

An analysis of candidates announced so far by contesting parties in the state reveals women make up a meagre 11.25% of the overall nominees. Out of 80 candidates announced for 40 Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar so far, only nine are women. The number was 12 in 2014 LS polls and 11 in 2019. The gender skew in the parliamentary poll candidates is stark, considering women voters in Bihar have surpassed men for the last three Assembly polls in a row. Surprisingly, major parties — BJP, Congress and Left — have not fielded even one woman candidate this time. These grim trends follow the parliamentary passage last September of the historic Bill, reserving 33% seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

In the 2019 LS elections, BJP, JDU and LJP had fielded one woman candidate each; the Congress and the RJD three and four women candidates, respectively and CPI(ML) one candidate. This year, the BJP is contesting on 17 seats with no woman on its list. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), which is contesting elections from 16 seats as part of the BJP-led NDA, has fielded two women — Lovely Anand and Vijay Lakshmi Kushwaha who joined the party in March.

Another NDA ally, LJP (Ramvilas unit), contesting five seats, has fielded one woman — Shambhavi Choudhary from Samastipur, an SC reserved segment.

Hindustani Awam Morcha (HUM) and Rashtriya Lok Manch, also NDA parties, are fighting one seat each, both have gone to male candidates.

On the opposition INDIA bloc side, the Congress is contesting nine seats, CPI-ML three and CPI and CPM are contesting one seat each. Vikasshil Insaan Party (VIP), another INDIA ally, has been promised three seats in the state but is yet to name candidates. Though the Congress and Left have not included any woman in their list, RJD, contesting 26 seats, has named six.

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