93.75 lakh female and 1.05 crore male voters in Punjab, women have been ahead in voting in the last elections. Very important for women voter parties, from free bus service to the promise of giving 2000 rupees every month. Big promises have also been made like giving 50 percent reservations to women in government jobs, free electricity has also been promised.
Assembly elections are due in Punjab next year. After this Panchayat elections are also to be held. In both these elections, all the parties including Congress, BJP, Akali Dal, BSP, and AAP are already engaged in wooing the voters. Special attention is being paid to women voters in the agenda of the parties. In fact, if we look at the trend of the last assembly elections, the role of women in Punjab elections is increasing. Now every party is opening its doors for women. Although the parties are making women fewer candidates, women and their problems are prominently included in their agenda. Today we are telling about the increasing interference of women voters in Punjab elections.
In the 2017 assembly elections, the total votes polled were 77.3 percent. The parties had also fielded only 7 percent or 81 women in the electoral fray, but the role of women was instrumental in writing the fate of 1,145 candidates. Women voted more than men. During the elections, 78.14 percent (93.75 lakh) female voters showed their strength, while male voters remained behind in this matter. 76.69 percent (80.54 lakh) male voters came out to vote. While there are 93.75 lakh female and 1.05 crore male voters in the state. At the same time, during the 2012 assembly elections, 79 percent of women voters cast their votes against 78 percent of men.
Dr. Rajeev Ranjan Giri, Assistant Professor at Rajdhani College, University of Delhi, explains that the reason behind the increasing role of women in elections is the reservation they got in the Panchayat elections. Apart from this, there are development programs, schemes related to women and there is increased awareness among women themselves about their rights.
Rajiv Giri says that due to drug abuse in Punjab, the condition of women became pathetic. Men do drugs and poor women are becoming victims of domestic violence. She is handling the work from home to outside. At the same time, after 1990, the trend of NRI son-in-law in Punjab also increased rapidly. In the hope of going to Canada, Austria, a large number of girls in Punjab started marrying NRI boys by spending a lot of money, but the condition of most of these girls later deteriorated. Because these boys would either leave those girls or treat them like maids.
How important women have become for the parties in the upcoming Punjab Assembly Elections, 2022, can be gauged from the fact that Congress is already in the public with an 18-point agenda. It also includes free bus service to women. At the same time, Aam Aadmi Party has announced to give 300 units of electricity-free. Shiromani Akali Dal has also promised to provide 400 units of electricity free of cost. Akali Dal has announced to give Rs 2000 per month to women holding blue cards. Along with this, big promises like giving 50 percent reservation to women in government jobs have also been made.
