K’taka women candidates push for better representation in Lok Sabha

Maqsood Maniyar| NT

Bengaluru: Women candidates from across party lines hoped to make inroads into the male-dominated sphere of electoral politics as 14 constituencies in Karnataka went to polls on Tuesday as a part of the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls.

According to the Election Commission, 21 of the 40 women candidates who contested Lok Sabha polls in the state this time are independents. It is to be noted that 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka went to polls on April 26.

Among the major political parties, Congress fielded six candidates while BJP fielded two contestants from the fairer sex.

Five of these Congresswomen contested in phase three on Tuesday. Minnows Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCIC) gave tickets to five women.

The most interesting contests featuring women include the one in Davangere where two candidates from the fairer sex went up against each other.

BJP replaced its ailing MP GM Siddeshwar with his wife Gayathri. Congress on the other hand fielded Dr Prabha Mallikarjun, the wife of Minister for Mines and Geology SS Mallikarjun and daughter-in-law of senior MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Both women belong to the two most influential political families in Davangere. Congress candidate Priyanka Jarkiholi took on veteran BJP MP Annasaheb Jolle in Chikkodi.

Priyanka is the daughter of Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) Satish Jarkiholi. Samyukta Patil represented the Grand Old Party in the Bagalkote contest against sitting MP PC Gaddigoudar.

Samyukta is the daughter of Minister for Agricultural Marketing Shivanand Patil.

Congresswoman and for mer Khanapur MLA Dr Anjali Nimbalkar, a gynecologist by profession, took on former Speaker and BJP candidate Vishweshwar Hegde-Kageri in Uttara Kannada.

Lastly, Geetha Shivarajkumar represented the Grand Old Party in Shivamogga against incumbent BJP MP BY Raghavendra. Geetha is the daughter of former chief minister S Bangarappa.

The only other Congress woman candidate was Sowmya Reddy, who contested against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in Bangalore South on April 26.

On the same day, the second BJP woman candidate Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje had contested against Congressman Professor MV Rajeev Gowda.

More fairer sex MPs possible this time

There is a hope that there are more women Lok Sabha MPs from Karnataka this time around.

In the 2019 general election, Karnataka had sent only two women to the Lok Sabha, namely Karandlaje (Udupi-Chikkamagaluru) and Mangala Angadi (Belagavi).

Karandlaje was the only woman who won from Karnataka in the 2014 general elections. Meanwhile, in the 2018 Assembly elections, Karnataka elected only seven woman MLAs.

The number went up to 10 in the 2023 state polls last May. Political observers note that women workers find it difficult to break through because of prejudices, candidates with money power being preferred over those from the fairer sex and politics centered on caste and community.

It is to be noted that most of the prominent women candidates from this Lok Sabha elections also come from political families.