Women voters of India: A force to be reckoned with

Political parties vie for women’s votes with promises of welfare schemes and doles, but true empowerment remains elusive.

Women show their fingers marked with indelible ink after casting vote during Rajasthan Assembly elections in Jaipur on November 25, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

The woman voter was never as important as she is now. Women voters are increasingly getting recognised as a constituency that can influence outcomes, and nothing symbolises this better than the hurried passage of the women’s reservation Bill.

For all the tall claims the BJP makes on “Nari Shakti”, only 10 to 15 per cent of its candidates in the five State elections in November were women. The same holds for other parties that have a pan-India presence.

Winnability is important, says Vanathi Srinivasan, legislator from Coimbatore South and national president of Mahila Morcha, the BJP’s women’s wing. Winnability has been the overarching criterion in the first-past-the-post system of Indian parliamentary democracy. In Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 seats, the BJP nominated 28 and the Congress 30 women. For the 200-seat Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress nominated 28 and the BJP 20. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress has three candidates and the BJP, 14. In Mizoram, the Congress had two women candidates and the BJP, four. In Telangana, the Congress had 11 women contestants; the BJP 14, and the ruling BRS seven.

The inadequate number of women contestants has not stopped women voters from exercising their franchise. In 32 segments in Madhya Pradesh, women’s voting percentages exceeded those of men. In six out of seven segments in Satna district and seven out of eight in Rewa, women voters outnumbered men. In more than a dozen segments, they equalled male voting percentages. The total turnout was 77.15 per cent; the male voting percentage was 78.21 and the female, 76.03 per cent. In Chhattisgarh, women voters outnumber men in general as a percentage of the electorate. The overall turnout was 76.3 per cent; women 76.2 per cent and men 76.4 per cent. In Mizoram, women voters (81.25 per cent) outnumbered men (80.66 per cent).

The 2019 general election registered a 5.1 per cent increase in women voters and State elections of 2022 and 2023, too, saw a palpable increase in voting by women. Some observers attribute this increase to the reservation of seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions, more than 50 per cent in some States, while others point to increased levels of education.

Competitive populism

The assurances offered to women by governments led by mainstream political parties and the promises made by the parties indicate competitive populism. In Madhya Pradesh, for instance, there is the Laadli Behna Yojana which offers Rs.1,250 a month to women of poor and middle-income households (roughly, 1.31 crore targeted beneficiaries); 35 per cent direct recruitment in government jobs for women; and free scooties for meritorious girl students of class 12. In Rajasthan, the BJP’s promises include all-women police stations in every district, anti-Romeo squads to curb eve-teasing, savings bond of Rs.2 lakh on the birth of a girl child. The Congress government in Rajasthan has introduced free bus rides for women; allowances to widows and women heads of households; subsidised gas cylinders and subsidised electricity; smart phones for women of a certain income group; and the Indira Gramin Rasoi scheme that will provide nutritious food at Rs.8 a plate. In Telangana, women are the beneficiaries of schemes such as Shaadi Mubarak, KCR kits and Kalyana Lakshmi. In Mizoram, the BJP promised a 33 per cent quota for women in government jobs, an all-women police battalion, and financial assistance of Rs.1.5 lakh for every girl child.

Vanathi Srinivasan told Frontline that the BJP’s Mahila Morcha has been working among women beneficiaries (Labharthies) for a year. “We encourage our members to take selfies with women who have benefited from both Central schemes and State schemes in BJP-ruled States,” she said. The BJP is banking heavily on the success of its financial schemes such as Mudra.

But there is scepticism about women-centric promises that political parties make at election time. Mariam Dhawale, general secretary, All India Democratic Women’s Association, says that there are many instances of men telling their women whom to vote for, but independent voting by women has become a steady trend.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan meets women during an election campaign in Mandla on November 10. Chouhan, who has hiked the payout in the Laadli Behna Yojana from Rs.1,000 to Rs.1,250 and has offered LPG cylinders at Rs.450, is reportedly banking on women voters to beat anti-incumbency. | Photo Credit: SANJEEV GUPTA/ANI

Promises by political parties strike a chord because of high poverty levels. The offers, she says, have an impact, given the high prices of food. “There is no control over prices. During Diwali, everyone hopes for something nice to eat. But all essentials are out of reach. Today, a woman finds ways to supplement household income, be it stitching, other home-based work, sweeping and mopping. Not working for a wage is not an option. Men do not get employment. If women really decide to vote and direct their anger according to their own thinking and understanding, governments will fall,” said Dhawale.

Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, said women were perhaps more patriotic in exercising their franchise. “It is as if they feel responsible. This is also the only occasion that a woman voter feels herself to be an equal citizen and takes pride in that. She literally sees that equality with both men and women standing in lines. That should be saluted. As for parties like the BJP and the Congress competing with each other in their declarations of intent, it is ironic. In the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022, ration was the main agenda. It is telling that voters have to be lured for votes with the offer of rations even after 75 years of Independence,” she told Frontline.

Annie Raja believes there is a patriarchal, feudal thinking that assumes women will vote if they are given doles. “The question is, how do most parties view women? Do they see them as equal citizens or as recipients of charity? How many people ask women whom they vote for? Modi lists out all the things he’s done for women. But what about the budgetary allocations for safety, for education, etc? It is the constitutional right of women to lead a dignified life. These doles only insult women.” Referring to the Women’s Reservation Act, she said: “They have put two iron chains on our feet—delimitation and the Census. The election debate should be around equal citizenship and fundamental rights.”

N. Manimekalai, director of the Centre For Women’s Development Studies, told Frontline the trend of more women coming out to vote than men was witnessed in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election; there were 5,68,850 more women electors than men, though the turnout percentage was marginally lower for women (at 72.55 per cent) than for men (73.09 per cent), according to the Tamil Nadu Election Commission Report 2021.

Highlights

• Women are emerging as a crucial voting bloc in India, consistently turning out in large numbers to cast their ballots.
• The passage of the women’s reservation Bill highlights the growing recognition of women as a powerful electoral force.
• Increased women’s participation in Panchayati Raj bodies and independent voting patterns suggest a shift towards empowered female voters.

Factors influencing the trend

Factors influencing the trend are schemes that recognise women’s agency, the impact of women’s movements and civil society organisations, campaigning by political parties, migration of male members of families, and family and peer influences. “People in general and women in particular from lower economic and working-class backgrounds, both in rural and urban areas, show keen interest to vote. Affinity with a particular political party over generations also influences voting percentage. Though political parties make promises in their manifestos and implement various schemes, women decide their vote on the basis of their own analyses, independently, which they do not reveal to their family members,” said Manimekalai.

A situational analysis conducted by the Department of Women’s Studies, Bharathidasan University in 2010, and supported by the Centre for Social Research, found that 33 per cent reservation in local bodies and self-help group movements had positively influenced women voters in Tamil Nadu. Data were collected from members of elected local bodies, Assemblies, and Parliament, and also from women candidates who lost narrowly.

Women voters lined up to cast their votes for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections at a polling station in Jabalpur. | Photo Credit: ANI

Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research, said some Central schemes might have positively impacted women, but more importantly, Panchayati Raj institutions played a major role in mobilising women to vote and providing an outlet for women’s political aspirations. “We used to say that women do not vote as a constituency. But women are voting independently, and in many places where we conducted studies we found that women do not want to talk about who they voted for. It is because the woman’s vote is important that the parties make such offers,” she told Frontline.

There is no doubt that women have emerged as a significant mass, critical to electoral outcomes. Yet, it is ironic that the importance accorded to them is transactional, a “your vote for my scheme” approach. The framework of luring women voters with ad hoc welfare schemes and sops is therefore problematic as what should be their right is assured as charity.