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PAY
UP TIME
The Uttar Pradesh cooperative department gets tough by launching a hard-hitting
campaign against chronic defaulters. How effective will it be, asks India
Today's Subhash Chandra.
Women's Lib: While
the rest of the country is still debating the women's reservation issue,
Madhya Pradesh is preparing to get more women into the assembly. India
Today's Neeraj Mishra analyses the "fair" politics.
Politically Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh register just a blip in the north Indian scenario
dominated by caste, communal and religious issues. The more populous and
aggressive Uttar Pradesh and Bihar dominate the political landscape. But
changes with tremendous ramifications have quietly flowed in from central
India. While the rest of the country still debates the women's reservation
issue and percentages are being bandied about, Madhya Pradesh which had
been the first to reserve 33 per cent seats for women in local bodies
and panchayats may yet take the lead in accommodating more women in the
Assembly irrespective of what happens in Parliament.
There appears to be a broad consensus within all political parties to
increase the number of women candidates and though it may not as yet be
33 per cent, efforts are on to see at least 50 women in a house of 230
in Madhya Pradesh and at least 16 out of 90 in Chhattisgarh. "We
have demanded that a woman be given a party ticket from each of the 48
districts in Madhya Pradesh,'' says Shobha Ojha, president of the Mahila
Congress. While such demands may have been made in the past, this time
Sonia Gandhi is believed to have agreed in principle to give that many
tickets. Of the five frontal organizations of the Congress in the state,
two are headed by women-Meenakshi Natarajan leads the Youth Congress.
Both Ojha and Natarajan have performed well and that has given them a
leg to stand on while making a demand for increased representation.
The BJP on the other hand is making an all-out thrust in favour of women.
Its chief ministerial candidate itself is Uma Bharti and that has changed
the perception towards women aspirants. "We have always believed
that women make good candidates for elections and in fact supported more
women in the panchayats than the required 33 per cent. Our Mahila Morcha
is alive and we have women leadership emerging in all sections like the
SC/STs and OBCs. There is no doubt that the BJP will give increased representation
to women,'' says Bharti.
Mahila Morcha president Usha Chaturvedi says that they have already identified
more than 50 possible candidates. "Eighteen tickets were distributed
last time, we are hopeful that with Uma Bharti on top we will be given
at least twice the number of tickets this time,'' she says. As far as
the BJP is concerned, there appears an embarrassment of riches-there is
Sumitra Mahajan who is the other claimant for the top job, Maya Singh
who is now a national general secretary after having led the Rashtriya
Mahila Morcha, and Yashodhra Raje Scindia emerging from the shadow of
her late mother Rajamata Scindia.
Election results themselves favour a demand for more tickets for women.
Of the 22 women candidates who contested on a Congress ticket last time,
as many as 18 won, 15 in Madhya Pradesh and three in Chhattisgarh. The
BJP had given tickets to 18 women and seven won. Winnability is something
that goes in their favour and that has emboldened the women to increase
pressure for tickets. "Only one woman was given a ticket by the BSP
and she won. It shows that woman plus caste is a more potent factor,''
says Ojha.
There is also the case of a widow or daughter of an established leader
being given a ticket. In the last Vidhan Sabha after Likhiram Kawre was
assassinated his widow won hands down. Like the seal of approval on Rabri,
Kamalnath has seen his wife win from Chhindwara, Arvind Netam's wife Chabila
won from Bastar and so did S.K. Singh's just-out-of-college daughter Manjushri
from Burhanpur. Thus Ojha's point that women voters accept a woman more
easily is well taken.
Yashodhara on the other hand feels that a woman candidate is the best
bet to rise above caste and community considerations. "When a woman
contests she is seen as a woman first-as a Maa, Beti, Behan or Bahu and
that in the Indian context is very crucial. The sense of identification
and trust is immediate.'' She also feels that women are perceived as more
honest, less likely to be corrupt and more likely to listen. But she really
can't explain why women have been ignored so far by the parties themselves.
"Perhaps because of some sort of male bias. But that is set to change
in this election," she says with confidence.
In Chhattisgarh fewer women have accepted a political career. Most successful
women have come from a feudal background. Geetadevi Singh, Rashmidevi,
Padmavatidevi, Shashiprabha Devi, Urvashi Singh and Kamla Devi were all
from erstwhile royal families who carried on the political tradition in
the family. Even when the BJP went scouting it found Ratnamala and other
Hindutva families of Jashpur and Kawardha. Kunti Kurre was the only socialist
leader who made a mark on her own. She later joined the BSP and has now
faded. "The 33 per cent reservation in local bodies had given a new
fillip to women leadership. If the party accepts our demand to give at
least 16 tickets then it will help sustain the newcomers,'' says Urvashi
Singh, Mahila Congress president. She has already toured each district
and identified possible candidates. She claims to have passed on the list
to Ajit Jogi and Sonia Gandhi.
But a lot understandably depends on how the two chief ministers react
and apprise the high command. "We may identify candidates but it
all depends on what the leadership wants,'' says Meenakshi. So far leaders
from all parties have shown an uncanny similarity in choosing only the
very pliable and supplicant. That however may be changing as well. People
like Vibha Patel who have been picked right out of their home and hearth
to become Mayor have shown gumption and political astuteness to emerge
as leaders in their own right. Running a home, as they say, is the best
exercise in good management.
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