“The daughters of the country lost. Brij Bhushan Singh won,” lamented Sakshi Malik, India's first and only Olympic women's wrestling medalist, in a post on microblogging site X last week. Singh was not nominated for the Kaiserganj seat by the former supremo wrestling federation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She has represented five of the six times she has been elected to Congress. But that's only a half-hearted nod to more than a year of protests by some of the country's top wrestlers, including Malik. By replacing her father with her son, the Bharatiya Janata Party avoided the embarrassment of fielding a candidate facing serious sexual harassment allegations. Of course, children should not carry their parents' crosses. It is also possible that Karan Bhushan Singh is more than just Baahubali's son. But it's hard not to agree with Malik that her father celebrated her son's candidacy with a huge show of force. The champion wrestler's lament is particularly salient because it speaks to a political culture that tolerates ignoring issues regarding women's dignity for electoral calculations.
As the newspaper's editorial (Moral Failure, IE, May 4) pointed out, “Brij Bhushan's replacement with her son is a mere token… as the Center focuses on women-led development.” This emphasis on Nari Shakti is particularly ironic given the strong antipathy towards Parivarwad and the Prime Minister's repeated statements that the BJP's moral failings have been linked to several depravities against him. This is in line with the failure of our allies in Karnataka who chose to endorse Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna despite being fully aware of the allegations. Incidentally, in 1996, it was MP Hassan's grandfather, JD(S) supremo HD Debu Gowda, who was then Prime Minister, who submitted the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, but it was not passed. There wasn't.
The more things change
More than six months ago, the National Assembly passed the Women's Reservation Bill with an overwhelming majority of 452 members. Women still have a long way to go to achieve the 33 per cent representation guaranteed to them by the Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhiniyam in 2023. One is that after passing landmark legislation, political parties seem to have returned to their old ways.
If data compiled by the Institute for Democratic Reforms is any indication, women made up around 8-9 per cent of candidates in the first three rounds of parliamentary polls. The proportion of female candidates is expected to rise slightly to about 10% in the fourth stage of polling, according to statistics from the nonprofit organization.
Compare this to the data for candidates with criminal records who are in the 4th stage fray. The proportion of female candidates is more than twice hers, more than one in five. 16% have serious criminal charges. According to ADR data, 50 candidates in seats that will go to such a weak vote have been accused of crimes against women, including five who are facing rape charges. .
The myth of winning
There is also a strange contradiction in the election situation. The important role of women voters is now recognized across the political spectrum. But nearly all political parties' candidate lists (TMC and BJD to some extent show a tendency to buck this trend) show that men win, even if it means overlooking accusations against people of their own kind. Prajwal Revanna until the public has indicated that they believe they are in the best position to do so. At such times, it becomes more of a matter of saving face for her, leading to questionable decisions such as replacing Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh with her son.
A combination of inertia and patriarchal thinking has made winning criteria the biggest obstacle for political parties. Criticism of alibi remains primarily within academic circles. Nothing but a lack of will can explain the political class's unwillingness to see the writing on the wall, which is reflected in the data.
Consider the last four Lok Sabha elections. Women made up 6.5 percent of candidates in 2004, 7 percent in 2009, 8.1 percent in 2014, and almost 9 percent in 2019. Compare this to the number of people who actually reached the Capitol. In 2004 it was 11 percent, in 2009 it was 11 percent, in 2014 it was about 12 percent, and in 2019 it was nearly 15 percent. In other words, women's acceptance rates outweigh their painful presence on candidate lists.
When political parties follow views like Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, it is high time they scrutinize such numbers, just as they do the arithmetic of caste and religion.
Until next time
Kaushik
© Indian Express Private Limited
First upload date: May 5, 2024 19:27 IST
