RAIPUR: The voters in Chhattisgarh will elect new members for the 3,206 wards of the urban bodies going to the polls on Tuesday.
Out of the 44.74 lakh total urban voters, female electorates, with over 22.73 lakh, outnumber men, who have a strength of little over 22 lakh.
Interestingly, the female voters, with their sizeable strength, are also likely to play a significant role in the elections in 8 out of the 10 municipal corporation polls.
There are 970 candidates in the fray for the posts of Mayor and Chairperson, and 9,452 candidates for corporators across the state.
The urban body elections in 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipalities, and 114 nagar panchayats are scheduled for 11th February, with the counting of votes set for 15th February.
Chhattisgarh has also done better in women’s political participation. The state Assembly has among the highest percentage of women MLAs in the country, with 21.11 percent of the total lawmakers, and 19 legislators in the 90-member House.
With women playing a significant role in the elections, political parties believe they have a strong impact on the overall poll results. Consequently, parties are attempting to woo them by focusing on issues that affect them.
“Chhattisgarh has always seen a consistent rise in the number of women contestants, and the BJP always supports higher women representation in politics and their empowerment,” said Kritika Jain, a BJP candidate contesting for the post of corporator in the Raipur municipal corporation.
The polls for the civic bodies will be conducted using electronic voting machines (EVMs). There are 5,992 polling centers for the urban body elections.
In addition to the corporators, there will be a direct election of mayors in municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipal bodies by the people. The entire process of both the urban and 3-tier panchayat polls will be completed by February 24.