Women constitute 52% of the population, yet Kerala has elected an all-men squad to represent it in the Lok Sabha. Women politicians were decimated in the general election, which saw an intense battle for power between the three political fronts led by the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Bharatiya Janata Party. From Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram to Rajmohan Unnithan in Kasaragod, male candidates emerged victorious in all the 20 constituencies across the state. Absence of women MPs from Kerala in the 18th Lok Sabha is a topic political parties prefer to brush under the carpet.
In stark contrast, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee gave tickets to 12 women candidates in West Bengal, of which 11 emerged successful this term. With 38% women MPs, West Bengal emerged as the state with the highest number of women representatives in the 18th Lok Sabha.
According to IndiaSpend, only 73 women were selected from across the country to the Lok Sabha this time. Interestingly, this is the first election after the enactment of the Women’s Reservation Act 2023, which aims to reserve 33% seats for women. Under-representation of women in the election has been in the spotlight ever since major fronts in Kerala announced their candidates. All the major fronts together allotted only nine seats (UDF: 1, LDF: 3, NDA: 5) to women, of which none emerged victorious.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front gave a ticket to a single woman candidate – Remya Haridas in Alathur. However, sources said that the lethargic local leadership did little to ensure victory for Remya, the sitting MP. “The local Congress leaders were not on good terms with Remya. That reflected in the campaign. Several Congressmen were said to have opted for NOTA over their own candidate,” sources in Alathur said. Psephologist G Gopakumar said that the discontent among Congressmen in Alathur has reflected in the increased NOTA tally in the constituency. As many as 12,033 votes went to NOTA in Alathur, an SC-reserved constituency, this time. This is the highest vote for NOTA in terms of numbers in this election in Kerala.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, which gave seats only to three women, is facing criticism over its choice of candidates. In Vadakara, where CPI(M) has been facing strong anti-party sentiments since the 2012 murder of RMP leader TP Chandrasekharan, MLA and former state health minister KK Shailaja faced a humiliating defeat.
Shailaja, a popular politician, had proved her mettle multiple times, including the last Assembly election where she broke all records with over 60k majority. Many opined that she was made a scapegoat to end the party’s jinx in Vadakara post Chandrasekharan’s murder. Writer Sara Joseph said that Shailaja, who was a successful politician, should not have been fielded in Vadakara, which still has strong sentiments in favour of the slain TP.
“TP’s murder is still fresh in the minds of the people, especially through the strong political interventions of KK Rema (TP’s wife and Vadakara MLA). It was not Shailaja’s personal defeat, but a wrong political decision. Same was the case of Annie Raja in Wayanad. When such an enormous victory was expected for Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, I wonder why CPI fielded a senior leader like Annie Raja there. A seasoned politician could have secured more votes than KJ Shine (fielded by the LDF) in Ernakulam,” Sara said. She added that the constituencies allotted by political parties was a major factor in the defeat of women candidates.
Though the enactment of women’s reservation was a major topic of the campaign, the BJP had given tickets only to four women in this election. The total number of women candidates fielded by NDA, including a Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) candidate, was five, which was short of the 33% mark it had boasted of in Parliament. However, BJP candidates Sobha Surendran and TN Sarasu significantly improved the party’s vote share at Alappuzha and Alathur respectively.
The disparity is not only in allotting winnable seats, women are rarely given multiple chances or constituencies in general elections in Kerala. This was not the case a few decades ago. CPI(M) leader Susheela Gopalan had won from Ambalappuzha, Alappuzha, and Chirayinkeezhu constituencies in 1967, 1980, and 1991 respectively while Congress leader Savitri Lakshmanan emerged victorious from Mukundapuram constituency in 1989 and 1991. CPI(M)’s AK Premajam enjoyed consecutive wins from Vadakara in 1998 and 1999. Apart from Remya Haridas, CPI(M) leaders PK Sreemathi (Kannur in 2014), P Sathidevi (Vadakara in 2004), CS Sujatha (Mavelikkara in 2004), and CPI leader Bhargavi Thankappan (Adoor in 1971) enjoyed a single term in the Lok Sabha. In 1952, independent candidate Annie Mascarene became the first woman from Kerala to be elected as a Member of Parliament.
Remya Haridas and Bhargavi Thankappan are the only Dalit women to be elected to Parliament from Kerala.
The presence of Kerala women in the Rajya Sabha paints an even dismal picture. In 2022, when Congress nominated Jebi Mather to the Rajya Sabha, it hit headlines as a rare gesture from the party after a long gap of 42 years. After Congress leaders K Bharati Udaya Bhanu (1954-58 and 1958-64), Devaki Gopidas (1962-68), and Leela Damodara Menon (1974-1980), the Congress waited so long to find another woman ‘worthy’ to be sent to the upper house. For LDF, TN Seema (2010-16) is the lone woman representative to the Rajya Sabha in the last seven decades.