In Chhattisgarh’s Bastar, a region said to be holding the key to power in the poll-bound State, the number of registered women voters at 10.4 lakh outnumber the 9.97 lakh men eligible to vote. Yet, between them the two major political parties, the ruling Congress and the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, have fielded only one candidate each out of the 12 Assembly constituencies in Bastar.
The Congress’ Savitri Mandavi who is contesting from Bhanupratapur in Kanker and the BJP’s Lata Usendi from Kondagaon are two of the women candidates out of a possible 24. All except one of these seats are reserved for tribals and will go to polls on November 7, when voting for the first phase of the two-phase Assembly elections will be held.
Ms. Usendi — a national vice-president of the BJP apart from being a former three-time MLA and a former Minister in the State — is not convinced that women are not given adequate representation in her party and points out that the relative socio-political status of women is better in Bastar and tribal societies in general.
