Mohammad Faisal, TwoCircles.net
How easy it is for women to get tickets in Lok Sabha polls? At least it is not that easy in India’s most populous State-Uttar Pradesh where only 14 (one from bypoll) out of 80 constituencies are represented by females. In absence of their adequate nomination by political parties, they do contest as independent but in vain. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls 206 females contested as independent candidates in the country. Though they together polled 861347 votes, the support is still miniscule as it accounts to only 0.16% of the total valid votes polled in the country. Needless to say that all the independent women candidates lost their deposits.
What is the preference of political parties while giving tickets to females in UP? For Samajwadi Party, the first preference is that she should belong to some political family. Out of their 11 female candidates, nine hail from political family with male members of their family having held important posts in politics. Bahujan Samaj Party, which is headed by a female Mayawati too follows same line. All seven women candidates of BSP belong to political family. None from outside including party workers were given ticket. Both these parties have now forged an alliance for 2019 polls. The same follows for grand old party Congress too followed the same and fielded seven women from political background.
Another factor which weighs heavily is lineage to Royal background. Congress preferred them as many as four of its female candidates had Royal background. SP too fielded one while BSP and BJP did not prefer them.
Celebrity status too fetches tickets in elections. BJP fielded two, Congress gave ticket to one.
Being a Sadhvi too helps one in getting ticket from BJP. The party fielded three and all of them won among which two are now union ministers.
Uttar Pradesh, has been politically active and has witnessed a woman taking charge as Chief Minister five times, once by Sucheta Kriplani (1963-67) and four times by Mayawati. UP has 14 women MPs, which includes one bypoll of Kairana where Tabassum Begum of RLD won.
Statistically, Uttar Pradesh has 81118615 voters from which 44.48% voters i.e. 36081818 are females. Total 135 female tried their luck in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. No independent candidate won. The highest success rate was for BJP whose 10 out of 11 candidates won. SP’s only one won from 11 candidates while all seven of BSP lost. Congress fielded 12 candidates and only one Sonia Gandhi won. One each candidate from Apna Dal and RLD (bypoll) too is member of 16th Lok Sabha.
Bollywood Celebrity: Only one won while three lost in 2014 polls.
- Hema Malini, BJP candidate, won from Mathura defeating Jayant Chowdhary, the grandson of India’s former Prime Minister Choudhary Charan Singh. Hema Malini is a two term Rajya Sabha MP and is also a Padam Shri awardee.
- Jaya Prada Nahta, she had served Rajya Sabha (1996-2002) and has been two term MP in 2004 & 2009 from Rampur seat which has maximum population of Muslims as Samajwadi Party candidate. Jaya Prada has switched parties several times starting from Telegu Desam Party, she joined SP and after the acrimony with SP stalwart Azam Khan, she sided with Amar Singh and remain with latter’s Lok Manch and in 2014 polls she joined Rashtriya Lok Dal and contested from Bijnor seat and forfeited her deposit by polling only 24348 votes.
- Nagma, she contested as Congress candidate from Meerut seat and lost by polling only 42911 votes.
- Smriti Irani, currently minister in Modi government, she bagged limelight by contesting on BJP ticket against Congress President Rahul Gandhi. She polled 300748 votes and lost the polls. She is a Rajya Sabha member.
Priestess (Sadhvi): All of them won the polls in 2014.
- Uma Bharti, presently union minister, she won from Jhansi as BJP candidate. She has the distinction of being MLA from UP and MP, two states. She was also chief minister of MP and has once left BJP to float her own outfit, Bhartiya Jan Shakti Party.
- Sadhvi Niranjana Jyoti, BJP MP, has been MLA and represents Fatehpur seat.
- Savitribai Phule, BJP MP, represents Bahraich constituency. She was elected MLA in 2012. Presently she has cut off from BJP and has been in news for attacking BJP leaders as well as developing proximity with Akhilesh.
Royal Family: None of them could win the polls in 2014.
- Begum Noor Bano, wife of former Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan of Rampur lost 2014 polls from Moradabad. She is in Congress and has been elected earlier to parliament in 1996, 1999 from Rampur as Congress candidate. Her husband too has represented Rampur four times in parliament. Her son Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, too is a former MLA, former minister and has contested but lost from Rampur in 2014.
- Rani Pakshalika Singh, the scion of Bah estate in Agra. She unsuccessfully contested as SP candidate from Fatehpur. Her husband Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh is still BJP MLA who has been minister in the past and has joined SP also during 2012-17.
- Rani Amita Singh of Amethi, she lost from Sultanpur as Congress candidate. Her husband Raja Sanjay Singh is Rajya Sabha MP from Congress and has been two term MLA, minister in state government, two term Lok Sabha MP, union minister and has even once contested against Sonia Gandhi in 1999 as BJP candidate before re-joining Congress.
- Rani Vasundhara, she contested as Congress candidate from Domariyaganj seat but lost. Her husband Jai Prakash Singh is BJP MLA and is presently minister in UP government.
- Rajkumari Ratna Singh, she lost from Pratapgarh. She is daughter of Raja Dinesh Singh, a former union minister and erstwhile ruler of Kalakankar estate.
Political Lineage:
Samajawadi Party:
- Humaira Akhtar from Amroha though she lost the polls. Her husband Kamal Akhtar was then minister in Akhilesh Yadav government.
- Rani Pakshalika Singh from Fatehpur Sikri though she lost the polls. Her husband was minister in Akhilesh Yadav government.
- Ayesha Islam from Bareilly, she also lost the polls. Her husband Shahzil Islam was MLA in 2012 and had switched from ittehade-e-Millat Council to SP. Her father in law Islam Sabir is also former MP.
- Usha Verma, she is daughter in law of former MP Parmai Lal who won the seat in 1962 from prison. Though, Usha has been MLA, minister three term MP and is now independently known.
- Dimple Yadav, the only female of SP who has won in 2014 from Kannauj. She is wife of AKhilesh Yadav, president of Samajwadi Party.
- Nandita Shukla, she lost from Gonda. She was MLA in 2012 from SP. Her husband Ghanshyam Shukla was BJP MLA who died in an accident after which she came in politics.
- Rajmati Nishad, she lost from Gorakhpur. She is wife of former minister Jamuna Prasad Nishad, who died in an accident.
- Shivkanya Kushwaha, she lost from Ghazipur. She is wife of former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, who was expelled from jail and was in jail when she contested.
- Seema Mishra, she is daughter of MLA Vijay Mishra who at that time was in SP and is now in Nishad Party.
Two remaining candidates of SP, Sushila Saroj has been former MP and Rajrani Rawat from Barabanki has been former MLA.
Bahujan Samaj Party:
- Seema Upadhyay, she lost from Fatehpur Sikri. She is wife of former minister Ramveer Upadhyay.
- Sanghmitra Maurya, she lost from Mainpuri. She is daughter of then BSP’s state president Swami Prasad Maurya.
- SUnita Shakya, she lost from Aonla. She is wife of former MLA Sinod Shakya.
- Qaiser Shakya, she lost from Sitapur. She is wife of Laharpur MLA Jasmir Ansari.
- Anuradha Sharma, she lost from Jhansi. Her late husband Ramesh Sharma was also BSP leader and is related to senior BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra.
- Kesari Devi, she lost from Allahabad. Her son Deepak Patel was MLA from BSP when she contested.
- Samudra Bind, she lost from Mirzapur. She is wife of former MLA Ramesh Bind.
Congress:
- Begum Noor Bano, a two term MP, her husband was four term MP, son was MLA and former minister. She belongs to Nawab family of Rampur.
- Rita Bahuguna Joshi, she is daughter of former CM of UP Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. Presently she is a minister in BJP government in UP.
- Rani Amita Singh, she lost from Sultanpur. She is wife of Raja Sanjay Singh, a veteran politician.
- Rajkumar Ratna Singh, she lost from Pratapgarh, she is daughter of late Raja Dinesh Singh, a former Union Minister.
- Usha Maurya, she lost from Fatehpur, she is wife of late Munna Lal Maurya, former MLA.
- Rani Vasundhara Singh, she lost from Doomariyaganj. She is wife of MLA J P Singh, now minister in UP government.
- Sudha Rai, she lost from Ballia. She is wife of former union minister Kalpnath Rai.
Apna Dal:
- Anupriya Singh Patel from Mirzapur. She is daughter of Sone Lal Patel who founded APna Dal.
Rashtriya Lok Dal:
- Tabassum Begum, she won the Kairana bypoll. She is wife of Late Kanwar Hasan, a former MP and MLA.