Women pack a punch in panchayat polls

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.

He added that it would be interesting to analyse how women bring about a balance between their household activities and their new-found political responsibilities. “A larger representation to women in the grassroot democratic institutions was long overdue as women played a major role in the movement for the creation of Uttarakhand. In the existing social chemistry of rural Uttarakhand, the women will be the actual rulers for the first time,” he added.

Interestingly, a large number of political bigwigs successfully fielded their spouses in these elections. These women are strong contenders for the...