TNM Poll Watch: In Karnataka, hardly 6% of BJP, Cong and JD(S)’s candidates are women

Elections aren’t a spectator sport, they are lifelines to our democracy. It is our duty as a news organisation to help you make an informed decision through factual reports, ground investigations and hard interviews. Join us in this mission.

Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10, all major political parties in the state have released the full list of their respective candidates. This year too, the number of women who have been given tickets to contest in the election remains abysmally low across parties. While Karnataka is set to elect 224 members to the state's Legislative Assembly, the three major parties in the state — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) — have fielded no more than 13 women candidates each for the upcoming election. While each party has given hardly 5% of their total tickets to women candidates, 49.69% of Karnataka's voters are women, as per latest data from the Election Commission of India (ECI). 

The low number of women candidates fielded by Congress contradicts the party’s stance on the Women’s Reservation Bill. The Bill proposes to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and all states’ legislative assemblies for women. Recently in March, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 because of the efforts of Congress, which was in power at the time. He also criticised the BJP-led Union government for failing to enact the Bill. The remarks were made in response to a protest by several major opposition parties (excluding Congress) led by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Kavitha Kalvakuntla, demanding that the Bill be tabled in the Parliament. 

The BJP itself had promised to enact the Women’s Reservation Bill in its manifestos before the 2014 and 2019 general elections, but has failed to do so in the last nine years it has been in power. The JD(S) has also been vocally supportive of the Bill. On April 15, former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda urged PM Narendra Modi to pass the Bill before the 2024 general elections. 

BJP 

BJP, the party currently in power in the state, has fielded 12 women candidates this year. This means that out of 224 candidates the BJP has given tickets to, only 5.36% are women candidates. It must be noted that there are no Christian or Muslim women candidates in the party, just like in 2018. However, the party has doubled the number of women candidates compared to the 2018 election, when it fielded six women in Karnataka. 

This year, the BJP has fielded three women candidates in constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes. Bhagirathi Murulya will be contesting from Sullia, Ashwini Sampangi from Kolar Gold Field, and Manjula Limbavali from Mahadevapura. Manjula’s husband Aravind is the present BJP MLA from Mahadevapura. BJP has also fielded one woman candidate from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes — Shilpa Raghavendra, who will contest from Sandur. 

Congress

Congress, the primary opposition party in the state, has fielded 11 women candidates out of a total of 223 candidates. Compared to the previous election, the number of women candidates in the party has dropped even lower. In the 2018 election, Congress gave tickets to 15 women candidates. This time, women candidates comprise only about 4.93% of the candidates fielded by the party, similar to the BJP. One Muslim woman — Kaneez Fathima — has been fielded by Congress from Gulbarga Uttar. Kaneez is the incumbent MLA from the constituency. There are no Christian women candidates on Congress’s list. 

Like BJP, the Congress has also given tickets to women in three constituencies reserved for SCs and one reserved for STs. The three women contesting from constituencies reserved for SCs are Roopakala (from Kolar Gold Field, where she is the incumbent MLA), Sujatha Doddamani (Shirahatti) and Nayana Jhawar (Mudigere). Meanwhile, Shreedevi R Nayak will contest from Devadurga (ST) constituency. 

JD(S)

Among the three major parties, JD(S) has fielded the highest number of women candidates, but the difference is marginal. The party has fielded 13 women candidates for the upcoming election. However, this is a major improvement from the previous election, when only four women were given tickets by the party. Women make up 6.28% of the JD(S)’s candidates this year, as the party has fielded its candidates in 207 constituencies. While no Christian women have been fielded by the party, one Muslim woman — Sabeena Samad — will be contesting from Kapu constituency in Udupi district. 

JD(S) has fielded two women candidates in constituencies reserved for SCs —  Sharada Pooryanaik (Shivamogga Rural) and Anuradha (Pulakeshinagar). Karemma G Nayak will contest from Devadurga (ST) constituency. 

In total, across parties and those contesting independently, a total of 2,613 candidates have filed nominations for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, of which 185 (7.08%) are women.