Women voters will have their say in the poll outcome this time

The 3,26,18,205 voters enrolled for November 30 elections include 1,63,13,268 men, 1,63,02,261 women and 2,676 third gender persons.

By Syed Amin Jafri

Hyderabad: With all the political parties, big and small, wooing them for their votes, women in the State are poised to have their say in the poll outcome this time. The 3,26,18,205 voters enrolled for November 30 elections include 1,63,13,268 men, 1,63,02,261 women and 2,676 third gender persons. Overall, there are only 11,007 more men voters compared to women. However, in as many as 78 constituencies out of 119 across the State, women voters outnumber the men. In the remaining 41 constituencies, mostly concentrated in Hyderabad and Old Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar districts, there are more men voters than women.

Understandably, one of the Six Guarantees under the Congress manifesto—Mahalakshmi—promises monthly assistance of Rs 2,500 to women, gas cylinders at Rs 500, free travel for women in TSRTC buses across the State, 10 grams of gold and Rs one lakh assistance for marriage of girls under “Kalyanamastu” (the new name proposed for Kalyana Lakshmi/ Shaadi Mubarak scheme). A skill development centre will be set up for aspiring women entrepreneurs and interest-free loans will be provided to DWACRA groups. Anganwadi workers will be brought under EPF coverage. TPCC has also promised “four ministerial berths” to women if the Congress comes to power.

The BJP, in its manifesto, promises “Mahila Shakti” for women-led development with offer of free laptops for college girl students, Aada-Bidda Bharosa scheme (for new-born girl child), four free gas cylinders per year to Ujjwala beneficiaries, formation of a Mahila Rythu Corporation and a Domestic Workers Corporation and provision of 10 lakh new jobs for women in government and non-government sectors in the next five years. Members of the DWACRA groups will be covered with Rs five lakh insurance policy.

In mid-October, BRS unveiled its manifesto which promises Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to eligible women, Gas cylinders at Rs 400 apiece, Rs 5 lakh KCR Bima scheme for all the 93 lakh families with ration cards, enhancement of Aasara pensions to Rs 5,016 and Rs 6,016 per month in five years and construction of own buildings for the women Self-Help Groups.

The BRS government has been a pioneer in implementing a series of schemes for women in Telangana over the last 10 years, including Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak, Arogya Lakshmi, KCR Kit, KCR Nutrition Kit etc. The allocation in the current year’s State budget is Rs 2,131 crore for Women and Child Welfare, Rs 3,210 core for Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak and Rs 12,000 crore for Aasara pensions. Almost 50 percent of the beneficiaries under Aasara pension scheme are women. They include elderly women, widows, single women, disabled, beedi workers, filaria and dialysis patients.

KCR Kits, KCR Nutrition Kits and some other schemes are implemented by Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department with separate allocations. Lakhs of women have been covered under these schemes in the last 10 years. The Telangana government has also raised the monthly honorarium to Rs 13,650 for Anganwadi teachers and Rs 9,750 for Asha workers. SHE teams are formed for protection of women. 33 percent reservation is provided to women in civil police recruitment and 10 percent in armed battalions. WE-Hub has been established to encourage aspiring women entrepreneurs to promote start-ups.

The government has also taken steps to ensure empowerment and better representation of women in panchayat raj and urban local bodies. In the first session of Telangana Assembly in June 2014, an official resolution was adopted urging the union Government to earmark 33 percent for women in the Parliament and State Legislatures. BRS also supported the Women’s Reservation Bill (The Constitution 106th Amendment) in the Parliament in September this year. Hopefully, under this Act, which received the President of India’s assent, the 33 percent quota for women will be implemented once the delimitation of constituencies is done after the next census is taken up.

In the current elections, only 221 women candidates have entered the poll fray in the 119 constituencies. They constitute only 10 percent of the total candidates (2,290). The BRS has fielded eight women while the Congress and BJP have nominated 11 and 14 women candidates respectively. In the 2014 Assembly elections, 127 women out of a total of 1,612 candidates had contested the polls. Only nine—six from BRS and 3 from the Congress– had emerged victorious. In 2018 polls, 140 women had contested out of a total of 1,821 candidates. Only six of them won, including three each from BRS and Congress.

It remains to be seen how many women get elected to the Assembly this time.