Will women reservation boost dynastic politics?

The passing of the women reservation bill in the state assembly on Wednesday, which reserves 50% of seats in local bodies for the fairer sex, has landed the political parties in a dark spot.

While none want to be seen opposing the Bill, all are scrambling to devise ways to circumvent it. The fall-out is likely to be an alarming rise in dynastic politics as male leaders who have lost their constituencies field daughter-in-laws and mothers.

The situation can be attributed to the absence of planning and will in political organisations to promote women cadre. According to BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, “Political parties should have given women greater representation in policy making bodies within their organisations. If we have 50% women as office bearers, they would have automatically graduated into electoral politics.”

Even in the non-political arena, women still have to fight hard for their rights. Top IAS officer Chandra Iyengar, who drafted the first women reservation bill, was denied the chief secretary’s post. Besides, the state has never considered women IAS officers for the post of BMC commissioner and MMRDA chief, or women IPS officers for the police commissioner’s job. 

A Congress minister admitted, “Absolute transfer of power to women is still a distant dream. Our experience shows that a wife who is a village sarpanch only signs the papers as the decision-making and dealings with the public is chalked out by her husband and relatives.”

Apart from electoral merit, many wonder whether women make any difference in checking corruption and crime. There is nothing concrete to suggest this as instances of women manoeuvring the system to retain power position keep coming to the fore. The skewed sex ratio of 883 girls to 1,000 male children is also weighing high on everyone’s mind.

Death knell for coalitions
Faced with the prospect of having only half the seats left for their men, mainstream political parties are planning to contest local polls alone. The Bill is expected to get the consent from upper house next week, which means its implementation in elections for 27 zilla parishads and 10 municipal corporations eight months from now cannot be challenged.

A three-term MLA said, “There is a lot of unrest within the organisation. We cannot reconcile that 50% seats have to be given to women. But we cannot protest as NCP president Sharad Pawar had endorsed the reservation.” In Congress too, nobody dare speak against Sonia Gandhi.

However, according to state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre, “The decision on having alliances in local bodies is determined by the sentiments in the respective districts.”