RANCHI: Both the ruling alliance and opposition parties have offered an array of direct financial schemes for the women in Jharkhand, but have so far failed to give adequate representation to women in Assembly polls this time. As of now, out of 158 candidates declared by major parties, only 26 women have received the ticket, which makes only 16.4% of the total candidates. That’s despite the fact that women outnumber men in 31 of the 81 Assembly constituencies.
The JMM-led coalition government had launched ‘Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojana’ in August this year. Under the scheme, Rs 1,000 is sent to the bank accounts of the women between the age group of 18 and 50 years. The amount was later increased to Rs 2,500 per month, a hike apparently meant to counter the BJP’s ‘Gogo Didi Yojana’ that promises Rs 2,100 to every woman each month. ‘Gogo’ means ‘mother’ in Santhali language.
The BJP remains on the top with 12 women candidates out of the 66 being contested by the party, while JMM gave the ticket to only five women out of the 43 candidates. The AJSU, on the other hand, has fielded two women candidates out of a total of 9, while RJD has given ticket to one woman candidate in a list of six candidates.
Another interesting fact is that most women candidates declared by political parties are connected to top political families. For instance, Meera Munda, contesting from Potka by BJP, is the wife of former Union minister Arjun Munda, while Kalpana Soren, fielded by JMM from Gandey seat, is the wife of CM Hemant Soren.
Other women candidates being fielded by BJP include Sita Soren, Tara Devi, Ragini Singh, Geeta Koda, Pushpa Devi, Purnima Das, Pushpa Bhuiyan. The JMM has fielded Baby Devi, Savita Mahto and Louis Marandi.