Of the 7.18 crore voters in the state, 3.15 crore are women (representative)
Calcutta:
The Trinamool Congress and the BJP are fighting to win over women voters, who comprise the 49 percent of West Bengal’s electorate who turn out to vote, by highlighting issues that concern them.
Both the BJP and the TMC accuse each other of not guaranteeing the safety of women and are showing the development schemes launched for them by the respective governments of the two parties in the Center and the state.
Elections for the 294-member West Bengal assembly are due to take place between April and May this year. Of the 7.18 million rupee voters in the state, 3.15 million rupees are women, a number that no party can ignore.
This renewed focus on women voters comes in the context of statistics showing that women had tipped the Bihar assembly election in favor of the NDA.
While female voters strongly supported the TMC led by Mamata Banerjee, many of their loyalties leaned toward the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, prompting the ruling party in the state to launch initiatives to attract them.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appointed ‘Bongo Janani’, the apolitical front of the party formed after the TMC beating in the 2019 elections, to reach out to women by highlighting her government’s development schemes and the “increased of crimes against women “in BJP. -governed states.
“The TMC government, in the last 10 years of its government in West Bengal, has implemented several globally acclaimed schemes like Kanyashree that have benefited women and girls.
We do not need a certificate from the BJP on what we have done to ensure the safety of women, “said Bongo Janani Minister of Women’s and Children’s Development and Bongo Janani Secretary General Sashi Panja.
In addition to criticizing the BJP for its “indifferent efforts” to address women’s issues, Bongo Janani’s outreach campaign highlights TMC government initiatives focused on women such as the Swasthya Sathi health plan and the direct transfer plan. Rupashree cash to prevent child marriage.
Bongo Janani was formed to create an atmosphere for a social movement against heinous crimes against women such as the BJP-ruled Hathras rape and murder incident in Uttar Pradesh, and to reach out to women who do not want to associate directly with any political group, sources said. by TMC. .
“The BJP should be the last group to speak about the safety of women in the country. The condition of women in the party-ruled states speaks loudly,” said senior TMC leader and MP Saugata Roy.
Another senior TMC leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said a motive behind Bongo Janani’s formation was to regain the party’s lost ground among women after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
State women remained solidly behind the left until 2006-07, when the anti-land acquisition movements in Singur and Nandigram tipped their support towards Mamata Banerjee.
Since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the majority of women voted for Ms. Banerjee. While some crimes against women affected her support base among urban voters, her rural base remained intact until the BJP entered the state political scene.
The BJP emerged as the main rival to the Trinamool Congress in the 2019 elections, with 18 seats, four fewer than TMC’s count of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
The BJP pocketed a large chunk of the women’s vote, the sources said.
He is now targeting the TMC for “increasing incidents of rape” and “increasing numbers of trafficking in women from North Bengal and tribal areas”.
“The rise in rape and other crimes against women shows that no woman is safe in West Bengal. The compensation to rape survivors is terrible. Is the TMC government trying to buy a woman’s honor? managed to ensure the safety of women, “state BJP Mahila told Morcha’s boss, Agnimitra Paul, told PTI.
The National Commission for Women has also criticized the state police for alleged inaction in the face of allegations of atrocities committed against women.
The BJP also highlights the Center’s initiatives such as the Ujjwala scheme, aimed at providing LPG connection to the women of BPL families, the construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and health coverage for families under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
“The TMC government did not implement Ayushman Bharat for political reasons. Women benefited from the Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat scheme,” Paul said.
The BJP focuses on special rallies of Mahila Morcha workers at the booth level and ensures that there is at least one female member in each mandal and booth committee, party sources said.
The TMC had put forward 17 women candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, compared to five for the BJP.
During the 2016 assembly elections, the TMC had put forward 45 women candidates compared to 31 for the BJP.
If female voters make up more than 50 percent of the electorate on the final voter list expected to be released this month, West Bengal will be the fourth state after Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to have such a record.
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