Only four women in HP assembly
Of the 19 women candidates who contested the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections last month, only four could make it to the Vidhan Sabha. They comprise three candidates of the BJP and one from the Congress. This tally is one up from the 2012 elections when only three women won.The BJP fielded six women candidates, while the Congress only three. The rest contested either independently or as representatives of regional parties.
Of the 19 women candidates who contested the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections last month, only four could make it to the Vidhan Sabha. They comprise three candidates of the BJP and one from the Congress.
This tally is one up from the 2012 elections when only three women won.
The BJP fielded six women candidates, while the Congress only three. The rest contested either independently or as representatives of regional parties.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Asha Kumari, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Chamba, won from Dalhousie by a thin margin of 556 votes. Former BJP minister and Shahpur legislator Sarveen Chaudhary registered her third consecutive victory in a triangular contest. Chaudhary defeated Vijai Singh Mankotia, a former minister who contested as an independent by 6,147 votes.
Rita Dhiman, the BJP candidate from Indora, defeated Kamal Kishor of the Congress by 1,073 votes. Another BJP candidate, Kamlesh Kumari, who was in the fray from Bhoranj segment, defeated Suresh Kumar of the Congress by more than 6,000 votes. Since the first election in 1951, only 22 women have made it to the assembly. Their best performance was in 1998 when six of the 25 who contested were elected. The number of women in the fray went up to 31 in 2003 but only four could emerge victorious. In 2007, 25 women contested and five made it to the assembly.
Interestingly, in five elections since 1998, women have outnumbered men when it comes to voting.