Gujarat women had a bigger say in these elections

AHMEDABAD: While women in India still have a long march ahead to achieve political parity with men, women in Gujarat seem to have voted with their feet this year, as the share of votes cast by women rose by 0.89 of a percentage point, to 45.68% in 2019 from 44.79% in 2014. The share of votes cast by men dipped proportionately, to 54.32% from 55.21% in 2014.
In absolute terms, in 2019, there were 32.27 lakh more votes cast than in 2014 overall.This increase involved 17.02 lakh more women and 15.25 lakh more men casting their votes this year. Interestingly, in the Banaskantha parliamentary constituency in 2019, 1.11 lakh more women voted compared to 2014.
The smallest increase in the number of women who voted was recorded in the Ahmedabad West seat, where the number rose by just 18,158 from 2014. Officials said for the 2019 general election, there were 45.47 lakh more electors on the rolls than in 2014. In terms of votes polled, the increase was 32.27 lakh.
Data from the Election Commission reveals that of the 45.47 lakh additional electors on the rolls in 2019, some 23.29 lakh were women and 22.18 lakh were men. Officials said that against the 23.29 lakh additional woman electors in 2019, the number of additional votes cast by women was 17.02 lakh.
Similarly, of the 22.18 lakh additional male electors, the number of additional votes cast by men was 15.26 lakh. In turnout terms, voter turnout increased by 1.46 percentage points among women, going from 59.44% in 2014 to 60.9%, while that of men rose by just 0.18 of a percentage point, going from 66.9% in 2014 to 67.08% in 2019.
While Congress leaders claimed that this increased participation by women was due to their anger against the policies of the government and rising prices, BJP leaders claimed that it was the because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity with women.
Ghyanshyam Shah, a Gujarat-based political analyst, said, “I would say that these additional number are more due to election management rather than conscious voting. Both parties did better at booth management and there was thus an increase in the voter turnout. The Congress, which was lacking in this department the past, has also caught up.”
BJP spokesman Bharat Pandya attributed the higher numbers to PM Narendra Modi. He said that there was greater awareness among voters and with 50% reservations in local self-government elections for women, more women were entering politics and their participation was thus growing.
Congress spokesman Manish Doshi said, “The rising prices of things like vegetables, cooking gas, and even demonetization had affected women more, and they thus turned out in large numbers to vote against the government.”