Few women in polls

Despite an increase in the number of women contesting in the polls in Rajasthan, many of them have not been able to prove their mettle at the hustings.

Despite an increase in the number of women contesting in the polls, many of them have not been able to prove their mettle at the hustings.

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The first general elections in 1952 saw not a single women returning to the lower house with only two women contestants in the fray - a Jan Sangh nominee and an independent - and both lost security deposits.

In the 1957 polls not a single woman candidate was in the fray.

It was only in 1996 polls that the largest number of women - two each from Congress and BJP - entered the Lok Sabha from Rajasthan. Later a woman candidate won in the bye-election held from Banswara.

However, it is from Rajasthan only that a woman candidate, former Maharani of Jaipur Gayatri Devi, got her name entered in the Guiness Book of world records by bagging 77.8 per cent of the votes polled in 1962 polls.

Gayatri Devi also scored a hat trick by winning three Lok Sabha polls.

Even the present Chief Minister of the state Vasundhra Raje Scindia has won five successive parliamentary polls from Jhalawar since 1989.

Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Girija Vyas also won three Lok Sabha elections in 1991, 1996 and 1999 losing 1998 polls.

Nirmala Kumari of Congress won Chittoregarh seat twice for her party in 1980 and 1984.