Parties bet on men to contest elections

Hyderabad, March 22: Women still find it difficult to get tickets to make it to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha.

With “winning candidates” being the main criteria in all the political parties including the ruling Congress and Mahakutami, women ticket aspirants for the 2009 Assembly and the Lok Sabha have fallen on the way side in the political equations.

The Congress has given tickets to 29 women, five for Lok Sabha and 24 for the Assembly, of the 290 Assembly and 42 LS seats announced by the AICC on

Saturday. This is less than 10 per cent of the seats. Five women candidates Ms Renuka Chowdhury (Khammam), Dr Killi Krupa Rani (Srikakulam), Ms Botcha Jhansi (Vizianagaram), Ms D. Purandareswari (Visakhapatnam) and Ms Panabaka Laxmi (Bapatla SC) got tickets from the Congress for the Lok Sabha.

The Mahakutami comprising the Telugu Desam, CPI(M), CPI and the TRS, is also unlikely to provide substantial seats to women in view of the “winning” criteria despite tall claims made by the Mahakutami.

Sources in the Telugu Desam said the party president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, was trying hard to provide between 40 and 51 Assembly seats to women, which the party had given in the 2004 polls and before.

There are equally a large number of women aspirants in the Mahakutami. “In the 2004 elections, our party gave tickets to 51 women. Prior to that, we gave tickets to 40 women. I am sure women will get their share in these elections, too. We will be happy if we get more seats,” Ms Nanapaneni Rajkumari, party spokesperson said.

Women ticket aspirants for the Assembly in the TD this time include Ms Uma Madhava Reddy (Bhuvanagiri), Ms Annapurnamma (Balkonda), Ms Suman Rathod (Khanapur), Ms G. Nagamani (Vizag West), Ms Padala Aruna (Gajapathinagaram) and Ms Pratibha Bharathi (Rajam SC).

Leaders say women on their own find it difficult to enter politics without strong backing of kin.

“Politics is a dirty business. Women cannot indulge in wheeling and dealing. Can any women go up to party leader and say she would be ready to spend Rs 1 crore? They can’t since most of them are still financially dependent,” a TRS leader said.