Although Uttarakhand has so far seen few women ministers and no female chief ministers, women have always been elected in a constituency in the Pauri Garhwal hill district since the state’s formation in 2000. The Yamkeshwar constituency has a total electorate of 90,638, of whom nearly half, 42,075, are women, according to a times of India report good.
In the first three elections, from 2002 to 2012, BJP leader Vijaya Barthwal won the seat consecutively. In the first election, Barthwal defeated Sarojini Kantura of INC by a margin of 1,447 votes. In 2007, he defeated Renu Bisht of INC by 2,841 votes and in 2012, he again won by a huge margin. Barthwal also served as a cabinet minister in the governments of BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
In 2017, BJP candidate Ritu Khanduri, daughter of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri, won the seat. This year BJP has given ticket to Renu Bisht, who contested as an independent candidate and secured the highest number of votes after Khanduri. Bisht, who is contesting against six male candidates, will make Yamkeshwar a women’s stronghold if she wins.
A political analyst based in Doon told times of India That scenario looks like a coincidence rather than a strategy by political parties. However, women form the backbone of the hills, outnumbering men in 33 out of 34 seats. Yet the participation of women in mainstream politics remains low. Apart from Ritu Khanduri, Yamkeshwar currently has only four women MLAs.
Voting will be held in Uttarakhand on February 14 to elect 70 members of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. Counting of votes will be done and results will be declared on March 10.
read all breaking news, today’s fresh news And coronavirus news Here.
,