SHIMLA: The two main parties in Himachal Pradesh -- the Congress and the BJP -- have not fielded a single woman candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls even though the fair sex constitutes 49 per cent of the electorate, and is "more proactive" when it comes to voting too.
No woman figures in the list of candidates for the four Lok Sabha seats from the state - Shimla (reserved), Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur -- where polling will be held on May 19.
In the parliamentary elections in 2014, the Congress had fielded a woman candidate, Pratibha Singh, from Mandi. A two-time MP from the constituency, she is the wife of Congress leader and six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
Prior to this, the Congress has fielded two women candidates six times since Himachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1971. They were, Chandresh Kumari, twice for the Kangra seat (1984 and 1989), and Pratibha Singh, four times for Mandi (2014, the 2013 by-election, 2004 and 1998).
The BJP has never fielded a woman candidate in the parliamentary elections in the state.
So far, only two woman candidates have managed to secure a berth in parliament from Himachal Pradesh.
While Chandresh Kumari won the Kangra seat in 1984, Pratibha Singh was elected from Mandi in 2004 and 2013.
Of the 51.59 lakh voters in the state, male voters number 26,45,584, while female voter count is 25,13,357.