Hyderabad: Women are poorly represented in the state legislature, and the trend appears set to continue. Of the 294 seats in the Assembly of undivided Andhra Pradesh, only 34 were occupied by women. This came down to 27, or less than 10 per cent, in the 2014 polls.
For the 119-seat Telangana state Assembly, the TRS had fielded only four women, a reduction of six from the 2014 elections. The Congress has fielded 11 women candidates this time, against eight in 2014. The Congress-led People’s Front (Mahakutami) has altogether fielded 13 women.
The BJP which had nominated four women the last time round has given tickets to 14 women this time.
Women aspirants from all the parties have staged protests in front of their party offices for neglecting them and not giving them proper representation.
Former mayor Banda Karthik Reddy, who had lobbied for the Congress ticket from Secunderabad, has been continuing her protest in front of the AICC office for several days. The Congress has allotted Secunderabad to the Telugu Desam as a part of the seat sharing strategy.
Ms Kasoju Shankaramma, the mother of martyr Srikanthachary, also protested at being denied a ticket by the TRS on grounds of her defeat in the 2014 elections from the Huzurnagar constituency.
Women aspirants reminded political parties that in view of the pending 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and the State Legislature, the Election Commission had suggested the political parties to ensure a proportionate increase in allotting seats to women.
During the Constitutional amendment in 1993 with regard to Panchayat Raj institutions, Parliament had provided 33 per cent reservations to women in local bodies. This was subsequently increased to 50 per cent, but the women’s reservation Bill which was introduced in Parliament in 1996 is still pending. Women contestants of Congress and TRS did provide a tough fight at several places in Telangana where there was a close contest in the 2014 elections. TRS women candidates won six of the 10 seats they contested, but somehow the TRS leadership this time was not keen on giving tickets to women.
Ms Rekha Nayak, Ms Padma Devender Reddy, Ms Konda Surekha, Ms Gongadi Sunitha, Ms Bodige Shobha and Ms K. Lakshmi (all TRS), Dr J. Geeta Reddy, Ms Nallamada Padmavathi, Ms D.K. Aruna, all from Congress, were some of the women who got elected in 2014.
