In order to improve the voting percentage in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the electoral commission has started a unique initiative to increase the contribution of female voters in the upcoming Assembly elections.
According to the state’s voter registration list, there are about 6.98 crore female voters and 8.04 crore, male voters in total, and no party is trailing in garnering support from the 6.98 crore women in the state.
Ranging from the Indian National Congress’ another manifesto, “Shakti Vidhan Mahila Ghoshna Patra,“ to the Bhartiya Janta Party’s proposal of free scooty to college girls, parties promise lucrative schemes and a slew of freebies for the female voters. As in India’s most populated state, the share of women in elections is gradually increasing.
The Indian National Congress is making every effort to reclaim power in Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party’s general secretary, distributed a wristband with the message “Ladki hu, lad sakti hu” to women at Kheraghar, Agra.
Before Agra, Mrs. Vadra campaigned for party candidate Archana Gautam in Meerut, where she took a selfie with women and even connected with Sadhvi Gyanmati Mataji in Hastinapur.
Furthermore, in the UP Polls, Congress has set aside 40% of the seats for women. Asha Singh, 55, the mother of a survivor of the 2017 Unnao gang-rape case, is one of the candidates.
Ritu Singh, a former SP worker who was manhandled in broad daylight to keep her from filing a nomination for panchayat elections, and Poonam Pandey, an Asha worker from Shahjahanpur who was allegedly roughed up while demanding a raise in honorarium, are also on the Congress list of women nominees.
महिलाएं इस देश की आधी आबादी हैं। आज भाजपा समेत तमाम पार्टियां समाज को बांटने की बात तो कर रही हैं, लेकिन आधी आबादी के मुद्दों पर बात नहीं करती।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 29, 2021
लड़की हूं लड़ सकती हूं एक कोशिश है कि आधी आबादी के मुद्दों पर बात हो, बदलाव की राजनीति की शुरुआत हो।
लड़की हूं लड़ सकती हूं संवाद pic.twitter.com/smyY5bPTxD
To try to reach out to this category of voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi deposited Rs 1,000 crore to self-help groups’ bank accounts on December 21, benefiting about 16 lakh women.
Over two lakh women participated in the Prayagraj programme. BJP even gave a ticket to Aditi Singh, the Congress turncoat from Rae Bareli Sardar’s seat. The second manifesto of the Congress is focused primarily on the needs of Uttar Pradesh’s women.
According to the party, before launching “Shakti Vidhan Mahila Goshana Patra,” the general secretary met with many women in the state and learned about their problems.
The manifesto includes promises such as a 40% reservation for women in government positions, a minimum pay of 10,000 rupees for Asha Bahus and Anganwadi workers, the construction of a women’s chaupal in each village, and accessible public transportation travel, amongst many other things.
Similarly, the Bhartiya Janta Party’s “Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra 2022“ manifesto offered free scooty to college-going meritorious girls, financial aid to 5 lakh women athletes, a Rs 1,000 crore Mission Pink Toilet, free public transportation travel for women aged 60 and up, Rs 1 lakh financial assistance under the Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana (CM community marriage scheme), and a slew of other policies.
In the race of bagging votes from female voters, the Samajwadi party contested too. The party altered its M-Y (Muslim Yadav) formula to Mahila Yadav. “M-Y stands for Mahila (women) and youth in the new SP. We are no longer bound by casteism and are tackling issues in a broader context.” In an informal meeting with Firstpost reporters, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav declared. In its manifesto, the SP guarantees 33 percent reservation for women in all government jobs, free education for girls from kindergarten to university, and strengthening the women’s power line 1090, among other things.
The parties remained focused on women’s issues throughout the first phase in Uttar Pradesh campaigning. They all struck the nail on the head; the EIC encourages women to vote by establishing Pink Booths, polling stations run entirely by women.
Women will vote in Pink Booths for the first time in Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed that, from this year, Assembly Constituencies have ‘All Women Managed Polling Stations,’ where the entire polling crew, including the police and security officials, be women.
Published By – Vanshu Mehra
Edited By – Subbuthai Padma
