Uttarakhand has just been through the biggest exercise in democracy at the grassroots — the panchayat elections. Given that the tiny hill state is one of the youngest in India, even seemingly minor political events are significant in determining the democratic evolution of the region. In all, the state has 7,541 panchayats, from which 58,143 representatives were elected — the majority of them women.

To begin with, the elections came at a very important juncture. For the two major parties, the BJP and Congress, they are a precursor to what can be expected during the coming Lok Sabha polls. Despite the fact that panchayat elections are not contested on party symbols, both the BJP and the Congress had fielded their “candidates”.

An interesting development this time was the large number of Independents and dissidents who won the elections. This could force the parties to go in for some re-thinking. Although the Congress and BJP had issued repeated warnings to rebels, no harsh action was taken, indicating that each party wants to keep the victorious candidates on its side.

What was remarkable was the large number of women who emerged victorious. For the first time in the state, 50 per cent of the seats were reserved for women. Moreover, there were several women candidates from the remaining seats — general as well as those reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The result: women will now dominate the panchayats in Uttarakhand with over 50 per cent representation.

The increasing role of women in the functioning of grassroot democratic institutions is a progressive development. “Women in the hills have been the economic and social backbone of their families. While the men move to towns and cities in search of employment, it has been the women who have been carrying out agricultural and other activities in the villages,” said senior Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana.

... contd.