E-Paper
Lucknow women taking strides towards parity in voter participation
The gap, which has narrowed over time, was the lowest in 2014 general elections that saw 50.22% of women voting as compared to 55.23% of the men
LUCKNOW Women lagged behind men by a wide margin (average 5 to 7%) in terms of voter turnout in the past. But voting trends suggest that the fair sex has caught up with men in terms of turnout.
The gap, which has narrowed over time, was the lowest in 2014 general elections that saw 50.22% of women voting as compared to 55.23% of the men. The overall turnout was 53.06%. By 2019, the gap reduced, with 52.74% of women and 55.58% of men voting, showing only 2% gap amid an average turnout of 54.78%.
“The gender-wise trend from 2009, 2014, and 2019 indicates significant strides towards parity in voter participation,” said Prof Manuka Khanna, head political science department at Lucknow University.
Since 2001, almost all political parties in India adopted women-oriented political agendas and Lucknow has been a hub of pro-women politics since 2004.
Women candidates have consistently been prominent opponents in key elections. In 2004, Madhu Gupta contested against the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2009, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Nafisa Ali challenged BJP’s Lalji Tandon. In 2014, Rita Bahuguna Joshi again stood against Rajnath Singh, and in 2019, Poonam Sinha, wife of Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha, contested against Rajnath Singh. But this year, no woman is contesting against Rajnath Singh.
Women candidates received substantial media coverage and represented a range of views on women’s rights - from empowerment and self-respect to broader democratic fronts for women. This visibility motivated more women to vote, noted Prof Khanna.
The increasing voter turnout among women in Lucknow signifies a positive shift towards gender parity in electoral participation. With efforts by political parties and the Election Commission, the future of women’s participation in Indian politics looks promising.
The passage of the Women Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha is also expected to increase women’s participation in governance and electoral processes significantly.
Several factors have contributed to the increased voter turnout among women. First, greater access to information through mobile phones has helped bridge the gap between different segments of the electorate, including men and women. Second, political parties have increasingly focused on women in their manifestos, encouraging more women to vote. Third, the Election Commission’s efforts to register more women voters over the past decade have played a crucial role. “Recent registration might have had a motivational effect on these new women voters,” said district magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar.
Significant improvement is evident in Uttar Pradesh, where the gap decreased from about 10 percentage points in 2009 to nearly one percentage point in 2019.
