“Last time (in 2019) there were two women candidates (from Kerala),” she said (File)
Kannur, Kerala:
A woman Congress leader has expressed concern over the lack of female representation in the Lok Sabha candidate line-up in Kerala, with party president Sudhakaran on Sunday calling her a “nobody” and raising the issue of representation Shi rudely dismissed the issue.
Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohammad on Saturday expressed disappointment that the Congress party, which was the first to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill, has fielded only one member from KC even though the bill was recently passed in Parliament. Women candidates from Latvia are contesting in the upcoming LS polls (but not yet operational).
When the media asked Mr Sudhakaran for his reaction to Mohammad’s statement, the state unit chief dismissed the question, saying: “Ask her. She is a nobody in the party”.
Ms Mohammad had said Congress leader Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has been calling for increased representation of women in politics and asked party leaders in Kerala to listen to him.
“You should give representation to women. Last time (2019) there were two women candidates (from Kerala). But after the women’s reservation bill was passed, there is only one woman this time. This is my biggest disappointment, ” she said.
Her statement comes a day after the Congress announced 16 candidates from Kerala for the upcoming LS polls, including Ramya Haridas from Alatur constituency in Palakkad district is the only woman on the list.
Ms Mohammad’s remarks also assume significance as Congress stalwart Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of former Kerala chief minister Karunakaran, defected to the BJP , accusing this great old party of neglect.
The AICC national spokesperson said she was not complaining but just asking the party to give more representation to women, claiming women votes were going to other parties and to bring them back, the party needed to have more women candidates.
The BJP includes three women candidates in its preliminary list of 12 candidates in Kerala, while the LDF has two women in its full list of 20 candidates.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
