For first time, three women contestants from K’shetra

Nitish Sharma

For the first time in the history of the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, three women candidates are contesting the elections.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP) alliance has fielded Shashi Saini, while the Navnirman Party and the Bharat Prabhat Party have given the ticket to Jyoti Nibana and Rajkumari, respectively. 

In 1977, Bharatiya Lok Dal candidate Raghbir Singh Virk had won the first parliamentary elections in the constituency. As many as eight candidates had contested the elections but there was no woman candidate. 

Similarly, 15 candidates had contested the 1980 Lok Sabha elections but again there was no woman candidate. Janta Party (S) candidate Manohar Lal Saini had won the seat.

However, in 1984, two women candidates had fought the Lok Sabha elections in the presence of 18 male contestants. The BJP had fielded Kamla while Kala Devi contested the poll as an Independent candidate. Congress candidate Harpal Singh won the seat while Kamla stood fourth and Kala Devi came seventh. There was no woman candidate in the 1989 and 1991 elections.

In 1989, 28 candidates had contested the parliamentary elections and Janta Dal candidate Gurdial Singh Saini won the seat. In the 1991 elections, 14 candidates had fought the elections and Congress candidate Tara Singh had emerged victorious.

In 1996, Kailasho Devi had fought the elections on the Social Action Party ticket and was runner-up. Haryana Vikas Party candidate OP Jindal had won the seat. 

Kailasho Devi again contested the elections from Kurukshetra in 1998 but this time on the ticket of the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) and won. She became the first woman Member of Parliament from the constituency by defeating Congress candidate Kuldeep Sharma. In the 1999 elections, the INLD gave her the ticket and she retained the seat by defeating Congress candidate Om Prakash Jindal. She was the only woman candidate from the constituency in the subsequent Lok Sabha elections in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

In the 2004 elections, the INLD replaced sitting MP Kailasho Devi with Abhay Chautala and again there was no woman candidate in the fray. Congress candidate Naveen Jindal won the elections. In the 2009 elections, Naveen Jindal retained the seat while lone woman candidate Sunita Dhariwal stood sixth. 

In the 2014 elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded Balwinder Kaur while Indian Bahujan Sandesh (Kanshiram) Party gave the ticket to Kanta Alariya from the seat. Both of them were unsuccessful. 

This time, Kailasho Devi was considered to be one of the strong contenders for the Congress ticket from Kurukshetra. She says, 

“Sometimes, male politicians in political parties also upstage women leaders and don't let them have much importance. The political parties need to change their perception towards women leaders and promote them. There must be 33 per cent reservation for women in both Parliament and state assemblies,” she says.