HUBLI: It’s not for nothing that both BJP and Congress are vying for the attention of women in Dharwad constituency. After all, both numbers and trends suggest that women deserve such attention.
The constituency, which consists of eight assembly segments, Navalgund, Kundagol, Dharwad, Hubli-Dharwad West, Hubli-Dharwad Central, Hubli- Dharwad Eest, Kalghatgi and Shiggaon, has 13,72,873 voters . Of them, 6,69,176 voters are women who are almost nearing to the number of men voters in the constituency.
Going by the polling trends among the voters in the constituency, women are always ahead of men in exercising their franchise. No wonder then that ever since the campaigning trail has begun, parties are paying more attention towards grabbing the attention of women voters by visiting them at their door steps. Compared to the Congress, BJP is far ahead in wooing the women voters. To woo women voters, BJP has already roped in the service of popular film actress of Kannada film industry, Shruti and Tara.
Both of them stayed in the constituency for two days and toured all over the constituency by addressing women conventions and even the response was overwhelming.
Braving scorching heat and crossing dingy bylanes and slum areas, wives of the MP candidates and women workers are touring the constituency to woo the women voters in favour of their parties.
Besides, the wife of MP candidate, Jyoti Pralhad Joshi and Shilpa Shettar, wife of senior BJP leader and speaker, Jagadish Shettar along with the former mayor Radhabai Safare, women activists and councilors are touring the constituency to seek the women votes in favor of BJP candidate Pralhad Joshi.
BJP is approaching women by highlighting BJP’s commitment in welfare of women by introducing schemes like Bhagya Laxmi scheme, distribution of bicycles to the high school girls, preference given to women in BJP and also promising complete women empowerment if BJP comes to power.
Though Congress has nothing to claim much about women welfare scheme to its credit, wife of congress MP candidate Snehalata Kunnur and other former congress women corporators of the city are busy in meeting and wooing the women voters.