In the 40-year period between 1978 and 2018, just 62 women have been elected to the Karnataka assembly, around six per cent of the total women candidates who were in the fray during these years, data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows. Also, the state has not seen any woman CM yet.
The highest number of women elected to the assembly between 1978 and 2018 was in 1989 when 10 women were elected, also the only time when the women elected were in double digits during the said period. The lowest number of women elected was one in 1983.
Just 16 women were elected to the house in the past three polls – seven in 2018; six in 2013 and three in 2008, the data analysed by News18 shows.
92% WOMEN CANDIDATES LOST DEPOSITS IN 2018
The data analysed by News18 also showed that more than 83% of the women candidates who were in the fray between 1978 and 2018 have lost their deposits. Of the 1,040 women candidates, at least 864 have lost the deposits.
In 2018, 200 women candidates of the 219 in the fray lost their deposits, making it around 92%. A similar picture was seen in 2013 as well, when 159 of the 175 total women forfeited deposits – making it around 91%.
WOMEN HAVE BEEN 50% OF THE TOTAL VOTERS
Interestingly, even in 1978, roughly 50% of the voters in the state were women – of the 1.79 crore voters, 88.08 lakh (49.17%) were women. The polling percentage for women that year was around 68%, while it was 76% for men.
In 2018, the share of women in the electoral roll remained almost the same. Of the 5.05 crore total voters, 2.49 crore (49.31%) were women. However, the polling percentage for women improved to 72%.
Further, as per the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS), the sex ratio in Karnataka was 1,034 for the year 2019-20.
In 2023, of the state’s 5.30 crore voters, 2.63 crore are women, while 2.66 crore are men. However, even though the state has almost equal representation of women in the electoral roll, political parties have failed to utilize the other half of the population while releasing the list.
NO IMPROVEMENT IN SITUATION EVEN IN 2023
As the state goes to polls on May 10, it seems that the political parties have not attempted to make an improvement in the picture as the share of women candidates remains low.
The South Indian state has 2,429 men contesting on the 224 seats against 185 women – not even one woman for each seat. Also, for every woman candidate, there are 13 men in the fray, the data shows.
According to the data accessed by News18 from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, women candidates are not even 10% of those contesting the polls.
The three main political parties – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and JDS – have also fielded very few women. The JDS has fielded 13 women, while the BJP has named 12. The Congress has released the candidate lists with just 11 women. At least 64 women candidates are contesting this poll independently.
Delhi and Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is also trying its luck in the state after becoming a national party, has named 208 candidates and has included 17 women.
Between 1978 and 2023, at least 22,170 candidates contested the assembly polls held in Karnataka. Of these, just 1,225 were women.
The results on May 13 will show if the number of women elected to the house has improved or remained low.
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