Maharashtra News Desk!!! There has been an election campaign in Maharashtra. Elections are to be held on 288 seats in the state next month. In this election, the parties and the opposition are engaged in discussion on many issues, but as usual, one issue is not visible far and wide in the political corridors. The presence of women in the Maharashtra Assembly has become less than before. After UP, Maharashtra has the highest number of Lok Sabha seats in the country. Despite this, till date no woman has been able to become the Chief Minister in the state, why? You will be surprised to know that in the 2019 elections, only 8-9 percent women reached the assembly after winning.
Women Chief Ministers State Sucheka Kripalani Uttar Pradesh Nandini Satap Orissa Shashikala Kakodkar Goa Navra Taimur Assam Rajinder Kaur Bhattal Punjab Mehbooba Mufti Jammu Kashmir Sushma Swaraj Delhi Sheila Dixit Delhi Atishi Marlena Delhi Vansudhara Raje Rajasthan Mayawati Uttar Pradesh Rabri Devi Bihar Uma Bharti Madhya Pradesh Jayalalitha Tamil Nadu Anandiben Patel Gujarat Mamata Banerjee West Bengal
Only 24 women among 288 MLAs
Talking about the previous assembly elections, women won only 24 seats in the 2019 assembly elections and this was the highest number till date. Only 20 women won in the 2014 assembly elections and only 11 women won in the 2009 assembly elections. These figures are really shocking. It is surprising that even today no one talks about women’s representation in Maharashtra, one of the richest states of the country.
Women became Chief Minister 17 times
There has never been a woman Chief Minister in Maharashtra, whereas in different states of the country, women have got the opportunity to take charge of the state 17 times. Names of states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are also included in this list.
2 things are necessary to become CM
According to a BBC report, senior journalist Jaydev Agoy says that to become a CM, two things are required, one is the support of MLAs and the other is a strong vote bank. This is the reason why women like Mayawati in UP, Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Mamata Banerjee in Bengal became Chief Ministers. However, Maharashtra has a patriarchal society, the effect of which can also be seen in politics. Jaydev Agoye says that due to the patriarchal society, women have been left behind in politics. Except on issues related to women, she is rarely seen speaking on the stage. If Supriya had not come from the Pawar family, perhaps she would not have been given so much importance in her party.
Women do not get a big class
Leave alone the post of Chief Minister, women have never even got any big ministry in the state. Women rarely make it to the cabinet and are assigned portfolios related to women or tourism. According to Congress leader Yashomati Thakur, women will have to struggle hard to make their place in politics. Even when I became MLA for the first time, my picture was never seen in any banner.
women cm faces of maharashtra
Till 1990, Congress dominated the politics of Maharashtra. During this time, the names of Pratibha Patil, Prabha Rao, Premla Chavan and Shalinitai Patil have emerged for the post of Chief Minister. But despite this, no woman has become CM in the state till now. At present, Supriya Sule, Pankaja Munde, Rashmi Thackeray, Varsha Gaikwad and Yashomati Thakur are being considered as the faces for the post of woman CM. But now there are no signs of this.
