30 former women corporators among 281 female candidates try their luck in civic elections

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A total of 859 candidates are in the fray for the municipal corporation elections, of which 281 are women, which is noteworthy. Out of the 115 seats in the upcoming civic body, 58 seats are reserved for women. This year, women’s participation in the civic elections is not limited only to reserved seats but has also expanded to prabhags that are not reserved for women. The contest includes 30 former women corporators, one former Mayor, as well as several first-time women candidates entering the electoral arena.

Women have also demonstrated political confidence by contesting 19 seats across the General, SC, ST and OBC categories. Women candidates from all parties including independents, the BJP, Congress, Uddhav Sena, Shinde Sena, both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and the AIMIM, are contesting the elections. This year also sees several women from political families contesting elections for the first time. The BJP has re-nominated 18 former women corporators.

Women contesting non-reserved seats

In some prabhags that are not reserved for women, 19 women have filed their nominations. These include seats from the SC, ST, OBC and General categories. In a few prabhags, two women candidates are contesting the same seat, resulting in keen women-versus-women contests.

Party-wise women candidates in fray

BJP – 50

Uddhav Sena – 47

Shinde Sena – 45

NCP (Ajit Pawar) – 39

Congress – 37

AIMIM – 28

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi – 27

NCP (Sharad Pawar) – 9

Strengths of women candidates

In-depth understanding of local issues

The campaign focuses on water supply, sanitation, healthcare, education and women’s safety.

Emphasis on personal, door-to-door interaction with voters

Leadership skills developed through social work

Tickets given to wives and daughters

The BJP leads in awarding tickets to women candidates, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) has the lowest number of women candidates. In the BJP, some former corporators have fielded their wives after their prabhags were reserved for women; these include candidates such as Kamal Thorat, Vandana Devkate and Anita Salve. From the Shinde Sena, guardian minister’s daughter Harshada Shirsat is contesting her first election.