Nari shakti in Bihar Assembly elections witnessing surge since 2010

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) In Bihar, women voters are not as silent as they are thought to be. Since the 2010 Assembly election, they have exercised their electoral rights in higher percentage than their male counterparts in respective categories in what analysts conclude as acknowledgement of the government’s inclusive policies.

Such explanations include empirical analyses and reporting that tie the turnout shift to policies and programmes aimed at women welfare and empowerment. From cash support for small business ventures, Jeevika livelihood groups, bicycles for schoolgirls, panchayat reservation for women, to increased women’s social mobility, economic participation and political awareness, all led to driving this turnout since 2010.

Direct cash transfers and other targeted subsidies strengthened the link between the state and women voters, increasing their electoral participation and making women a reliable voting bloc.

Additionally, growing organisation at the grassroots, like self‑help groups, village institutions, and improved girls’ schooling also raised social and political awareness.

Data providing gender-wise turnout available from official sources suggest that in 1962, about 32.5 per cent female votes exercised their rights against a male turnout touching almost 55 per cent.

That chasm widened in 1977, even as the Janata Party scored decisive victories in Parliamentary and Assembly elections following massive waves of protests against an Emergency imposed by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi-led Congress government.

Electors in Bihar, who chose to usher in a Janata government in the state with Karpoori Thakur at its helm, comprised a whopping 71.2 per cent among males against only 38.3 per cent female.

In the 90s, since the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations, there were about half-a-dozen quick changes at the Centre.

In Bihar, some socio-political engineering helped Lalu Prasad Yadav continue to rule, handing the mantle of power to wife Rabri Devi when faced with a chargesheet over the fodder scam.

This period also witnessed a slow but steady closing of the male-female voter gap in the state’s turnout. In the 1990 Assembly election, about 53.3 per cent women exercised their suffrage against a 69.6 per cent turnout among male counterparts.

It also heralded the beginning of 'Lalu raj'. Five years later, the gap further constricted with male participation falling to around 67 per cent, while the number of women voters increased to 55.8 per cent.

The decade was marked with Bihar’s economy sliding to such levels that a survey in December 1999 declared it as the worst state in India for investment.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) formed an alliance that swept through a majority of the state’s Assembly segments.

Believing the fodder scam to be a factor affecting Lalu Yadav's political fortunes, the Congress – which contested the Parliamentary elections in alliance with the RJD in the Parliamentary polls – decided to walk alone in the 2020 Assembly election.

In 2000, though the RJD won a majority of seats, the BJP and JD(U) formed the government, with Nitish Kumar at its helm. However, neither side enjoyed a majority in the Assembly.

Significantly, in this poll, male participation (70.7 per cent) far outnumbered women (53.3 per cent) in their respective categories. However, Nitish stepped down even before a floor test, and Rabri Devi was back as Chief Minister.

The 2005 Assembly election, held in February, produced a fractured mandate and no government could be formed in Bihar.

Both male (about 50 per cent) and female (42.5 per cent) participation among the respective categories came down.

In the subsequent poll held in October-November the same year, the numbers further decreased to 47 per cent among male and 44.6 per cent among female voters.

Nitish Kumar returned to power at the head of a JD(U)-BJP coalition government. Since then, consecutively through 2010, 2015, and 2020, about 54.4, 60.5 and 59.7 per cent of women voters participated in Assembly elections, scoring over men, which was 51.1, 53.3, and 54.5 respectively among their own total number of electors.

In the ongoing Assembly election 2025, early indications from polling in phase 1 predict women voters’ participation in large numbers; but for whom the electronic voting machines is beeping under their fingers will be known on November 14.

--IANS

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