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UP Politics: Both BJP and Samajwadi Party are making big announcements to financial help and facilities to attract women voters in their favor. But when it comes to representing women in elections, the record of both parties appears relatively weak. The data of assembly elections of 2012, 2017 and 2022 makes this picture clear.

Tezzbuzz Desk– Preparations for the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are gradually gaining momentum. Political parties are now focusing on such issues which can have a direct impact on women voters. Be it BJP's Yogi government or opposition's Samajwadi Party, both are trying to help women through schemes and promises of financial assistance.

On the occasion of Women's Equality Day, Samajwadi Party has announced to implement 'Stree Samman Samriddhi Yojana' if it comes to power. According to the party, under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 40 thousand will be given to women every year and it has also been promised to increase this amount in future.

At the same time, Yogi government is also making many announcements regarding women and daughters. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while inaugurating the 'Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrishakti Yatra Yojana' in Lucknow, talked about giving scooties to 50 thousand girl students pursuing graduation in October-November. Apart from this, three days free bus travel facility for women was also announced during Rakshabandhan. It has been said that women above 60 years of age will be provided free bus travel facility under this scheme.

In fact, the role of women voters has become increasingly important in the last few elections. From Lok Sabha elections to assembly elections in states like Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam, political parties have kept women at the center of their election agenda. But the question is, how far are the parties making promises of women's welfare in terms of giving them political representation?

A total of 8,360 candidates were in the fray for 543 seats in the country in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Of these, only 800 were women, i.e. about 10 percent of the total candidates. Of these 800 women candidates, 279 were independent, while 267 contested from unrecognized parties. Only 254 women got tickets from recognized political parties.

The picture was not much different in the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 4,442 candidates contested the 403 assembly seats, of which 559 were women. That means the share of women among the total candidates was about 13 percent. However, this figure was about 4 percent more than in 2017.

Congress remained at the forefront in giving tickets to women candidates. The party fielded 155 women under the 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign. BJP gave tickets to 45 women, Samajwadi Party to 42 and Bahujan Samaj Party to 38 women.

Of the 559 women candidates, 44 had won, while the number of women MLAs reached 47 after subsequent by-elections. 29 women candidates of BJP were successful in winning the elections. 14 women candidates from Samajwadi Party and one from Congress also won. Apart from this, three women candidates of Apna Dal (Sonelal) became MLAs.

If we look at the 2017 assembly elections, a total of 485 women had contested the elections at that time. BJP had given maximum representation by giving tickets to 44 women. Samajwadi Party had fielded 22 women, BSP 20 and Congress 11 women. 41 women candidates had won in this election. 36 women candidates of BJP and its ally Apna Dal had won. Two women candidates each from BSP and Congress and one woman candidate from SP were successful in winning the elections. Later, through by-elections, three more seats went to the account of women MLAs.

Now if we talk about 2012 assembly elections, out of total 6,839 candidates, only 583 were women. That means the share of women candidates was about 8.5 percent. In that election, BJP had given tickets to 44 women, while Samajwadi Party had fielded 33 women candidates. Rashtriya Lok Dal had given tickets to 25 women, BSP to 19 and Congress to 11 women.

In 2012, out of 583 women candidates, only 35 were able to reach the Assembly after winning the elections. If we look at these figures, there has been an increase in the number of women candidates in the last three assembly elections, but the share of political parties giving tickets to women has still been limited.

In such a situation, the 2027 assembly elections will be important in many ways. On one hand, BJP and SP are making big promises for women voters through financial assistance, free facilities and schemes, while on the other hand, it will be interesting to see how much political representation both the parties give to women in ticket distribution. The real question is that beyond using half the population as a vote bank, will they also get an equal share in power and politics?