Chandigarh MC elections: Women candidates a force to reckon with this time

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

This time, women candidates are a stronger force in the local Municipal Corporation elections, scheduled for December 24. While 12 wards of the 35 have been reserved for women, breaking the glass ceiling, they are contesting as many as 21 seats.

There are a total of 203 candidates from different political parties or Independents in the fray. Of them, 69 are women candidates.

In ward number 1, seven women are contesting, the highest in any ward. Ward numbers 16, 9, 6 and 28 have six women contestants each, the second highest. Some parties have given the ticket to more women than the reserved quota of 12, indicating the influence of the fairer sex in general wards as well.

The Congress has given the ticket to 14 women. Other than the 12 reserved seats, two seats have been given from general wards — ward number 27 (Gurbax Rawat) and ward number 12 (Deipa Asdhir Dubey).

“They are our strong candidates, that’s why they were given the ticket from even unreserved seats. They are going to defeat their male rivals from other parties. Our party leader Priyanka Gandhi spoke of 40 per cent seats for women in Uttar Pradesh, we have given 42 per cent representation to women,” said Subhash Chawla, president, city Congress.

Sitting councillor Gurbax Rawat said, “Women should not be dependent on quota seats. They should not be in politics only because they happen to be the daughter or wife of ‘actual candidates’ in reserved seats. They have their own standing and caliber and should come forward.”

AAP has also given the ticket to a woman on a general seat. “Our candidate Sukhraj Sandhu (ward number 2) is highly educated and understands people’s issues; thus, we have given her the ticket. It’s women empowerment,” said AAP convener Prem Garg. Other parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and Independents are also vying from unreserved seats.

BJP’s sitting councillor Sunita Dhawan, who is contesting from ward number 18, reserved for women, said, “Women are coming forward in every field. Some women, who come from political families, should become self-dependent after they come to the MC; then only can they understand the problems of the ward better.”

However, there is another side to the story. Many women candidates are disinterested in politics and are contesting only as their councillor husband’s ward has been reserved for women.