Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Despite advocating for equal rights and representation for women, political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have consistently hesitated to nominate them as candidates, particularly for the Lok Sabha elections.
Between 1967 and 2019, Jammu and Kashmir only elected three women to Parliament on five occasions. While women have secured parliamentary positions four times from the Kashmir region and once from Ladakh, no woman from the Jammu region has entered Parliament so far.
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections approach, political parties are intensifying efforts to court female voters. However, apart from Mehbooba Mufti of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), no major political party has nominated a female candidate.
The first female MP from Jammu and Kashmir was Begam Akbar Jehan Abdullah, wife of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. She represented the National Conference Party and was elected as an MP from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in 1977.
Later, in 1984, she was re-elected as an MP from the Anantnag seat. Following her, Rani Parvati Devi Deskit Wangmo won as an MP from Ladakh with a Congress ticket in 1977.
Rani Parvati Devi, often referred to as the Queen Mother of Ladakh, now resides in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, retired from politics. The 90-year-old Parvati contested on a Congress ticket in 1977, defeating her sole competitor, Mohammad Ali alias Ali Kargili, an independent candidate, securing her place in the Lok Sabha with 2877 votes.
However, due to the premature dissolution of the Morarji Desai-led government, her tenure in the Lok Sabha lasted only three years, and elections were held again in 1980.
After a gap of 27 years, Mehbooba Mufti won the Anantnag seat in 2004 on the ticket of the People's Democratic Party, defeating Mehboob Beg of the National Conference, becoming the second woman MP from the Kashmir division. She was re-elected from the Anantnag seat in 2014, defeating Mehboob Beg once again.
In 52 years, women from Jammu and Kashmir have reached Parliament five times. Notably, no woman MP has represented Jammu and Kashmir under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner yet. Despite attempts by independent female candidates, success has eluded them in elections from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The women voter count in Jammu and Kashmir stands at 42.58 lakh for the upcoming elections, marking a consistent increase from 36.38 lakh in 2019 to 40.67 lakh in 2022.
In the current electoral scenario, no political party from Udhampur has nominated a women candidate, and similarly, no women are contesting as independent candidates. However, it is to be noted that the regional party, National Awami United Party, has shown confidence in 30-year-old Shikha Bandral for the Jammu seat.
In Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti has submitted her nomination papers for the Anantnag seat today, marking her fourth attempt after contesting unsuccessfully in 2019 from the same seat.
While nominations for the Anantnag seat are ongoing, the notification for filing nominations for the Srinagar seat has been issued today. Elections for the Baramulla and Ladakh seats are scheduled for the fifth phase.
It remains to be seen whether any women candidates will enter the fray from Baramulla and Ladakh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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