HYDERABAD: Though 50 per cent of seats in the GHMC polls have been reserved for women, as per the final list of candidates released by the TSEC, 581 are men and 541 are women. A deeper look into the data shows that this is because there are fewer Independent women candidates than men — 174 against 211.
For instance, in divisions like Fatehnagar and KPHB, both of which are unreserved, there are a total of 11 candidates in the fray, of which four to six are Independents.
In Fatehnagar, there are nearly four Independent candidates, while in KPHB there are six of them. Similarly, in divisions like Macha Bollarum, which is reserved for SC candidate (male or female), at least four Independents were fielded, most of whom are men. Moreover, the number of Independents has been largely low in women-only divisions. In Khairtabad, for instance, there are only four such candidates from leading parties.
“The reason why more men are contesting as Independents is that being a candidate in an election requires a lot of money, and in India, women are likely to be poorer. Even if the women are wealthy, they are likely to not have control over the assets and decisions over wealth are taken by the men,” said Tara Krishnaswamy from Shakti, a political advocacy group for women.