Subsidised LPG cylinders, monthly doles to meet kitchen expenses and the arrangement for free legal and medical consultation — these are some of the promises political parties in Haryana are making to woo women voters in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
The parties are also holding conferences to win over the support of women voters, who in the past decade played a crucial role in deciding the fate of the elections while rising above caste lines in a patriarchal society.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) women cell general secretary Sunaina Chautala claims that her party pioneered in launching all-woman conferences in the State, with its ‘Hari Chunari Chaupals’ initiative way back in 2015.
She expects women to play a pivotal role for the revival of her party, which saw its support base eroding over the years and suffering a schism following a feud in the Chautala family, leading to the formation of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) ahead of the 2019 Haryana Assembly poll.
“Unlike men, who mostly vote on caste lines, women tend to vote more on socio-economic issues affecting them such as crime rate, unemployment, and inflation, she said.
Meanwhile, the JJP — the INLD’s breakaway faction — too has its eyes firmly set on women voters.
“The party has already delivered on its promise of 50% reservation for women in panchayats and one-third reservation in the allotment of fair price shops,” said JJP spokesperson Deep Kamal Saharan.
He insisted that the INLD’s ‘Hari Chunari Chaupals’ campaign was, in fact, the brainchild of JJP legislator Naina Chautala, the first women from the Chautala family to enter active politics in 2014.
JJP holds ‘chaupals’
Ms. Naina Chautala has held 55 ‘chaupals’ in as many Assembly constituencies so far this year, Mr. Saharan said.
Haryana Pradesh Mahila Congress president Sudha Bhardwaj, too, said women voters have become politically more aware and assertive.
“Unlike previously, when they cast their votes as per diktats of the men in their families, they are increasingly using their own discretion now. Women electorate had also played a pivotal role in Congress’s Karnataka win,” she said.
“In Haryana, we run a dedicated helpline in each district to provide free legal and medical consultation to women. Our party has also promised LPG cylinders at ₹500, ₹6,000 elderly pension, and 300 units of free electricity,” Ms. Bhardwaj added.
BJP Central Parliamentary Board member Sudha Yadav, speaking to women members of a self-help group in Jharsa, said the participation of women has increased in all spheres during the term of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre.
BJP’s social campaigns strategist Sunil Jaglan, who has launched the ‘Mahila Hiteshi Modi’ campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha election, said the awareness among women has risen over the past decade.
