Lok Sabha Elections 2024: More Women Candidates to Contest in Karnataka First Time Ever

Leading the parties fielding women candidates is the ruling Congress which has fielded six women candidates while the BJP has given tickets to women in two Lok Sabha constituencies. The JDS has not given tickets to women in any constituency.

Bengaluru: For the first time in the history of Lok Sabha elections in the country, national parties have fielded more women candidates in Karnataka. While the Congress has fielded six women, the BJP has given tickets to two. The women candidates have already started campaigning in the excitement of getting the ticket, and the curiosity of how many among the women candidates will win the election will be known on counting day on June 4 this year.

Apart from two women elected to the Lok Sabha from the state in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, only one has been elected since then. In the 1999 elections, then Congress President Sonia Gandhi represented the state from the Ballari Lok Sabha constituency and Margaret Alva from the Canara Lok Sabha constituency. In the subsequent years, only one woman was elected in every election from the state, while in some other elections, women did not get tickets.

The Bill to provide 33% reservation for women in the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha has been passed in both the Houses of Parliament. It is being said that by the time of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, women's reservation is likely to be implemented across the country. Congress and BJP have given importance to women in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress is one step ahead of the BJP in the state and has given tickets to women in 6 Lok Sabha constituencies. BJP has contested in two constituencies. JDS has not given tickets to women in any constituency.

Tickets for Women in Constituencies: In the first list of Congress, the name of Geeta Sivarajkumar was announced as a candidate for the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency. In the second list of the party, tickets have been announced for Soumya Reddy from Bangalore South, Prabha Mallikarjuna from Davangere, Anjali Limbalkar from Uttara Kannada, Samyukta Patil from Bagalkote and Priyanka Jarakiholi from Chikkodi constituency.

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje from Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency and GM Siddeshwar's wife Gayatri Siddeshwar from Davangere constituency have been given tickets in BJP's first list.

During the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections, among the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, Congress, BJP, and JDS did not give tickets to women. However, in 1999, Congress had given tickets to two women and BJP to one woman. BJP's Sushma Swaraj contested against Sonia Gandhi in Bellary, which attracted national attention. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the three major parties did not field women.

As a result of constituency redistribution during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Bellary, Chitradurga, Raichur, and Bijapur constituencies, which were common constituencies, became reserved constituencies. Bellary General Constituency is reserved for Scheduled Castes while Vijapur and Chitradurga constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes. BJP candidate B Sreeramulu's sister J Shanta, the former minister who entered politics for the first time, contested from Ballari Lok Sabha constituency and won by a few votes. Later, in 2014 and 2019, Shobha Karandlaje won from Udupi and Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituencies.

Now in the changed political situation, she has entered the arena to test her luck from Bengaluru North Constituency. This time, women candidates are making sound in the Lok Sabha elections, and it is interesting to know who will wear the victory garland.