Woman voters on top in Murshidabad

BEHRAMPORE: Women in Murshidabad have sprung a pleasant surprise this election, bucking the past trend of men outnumbering them at polling booths. Though the number of men eligible to vote was 25,000 more than women in the district, analysis of the actual votes cast shows over 11,000 more women turned up at the polling booths on April 21.
According to the district election cell statistics, there are 25,41,638 male, 22,93,280 female and 45 third-gender voters.The turnout on April 21 was 38,89,593, 19,50,385 of them being women. Female voters were most evident in the Kandi subdivision and border areas close to Jalangi and Domkal. In Jalangi, men would usually outnumber women by a margin of around 9,000, but this time, 4,000 more women voted. In Domkal, the voter list has 8,500 more men than women. Yet, 4,000 more women voted there.
In Khargram, women beat men by a similar margin though there are 7,000 more men. In Burwan and Bharatpur, 2,000 more women voted while in Kandi, the margin was 11,000. But the trend was opposite in Behrampore, where more women are on the list than men, the former being outnumbered, albeit by 11 votes only.
Delighted with the high women turnout, the district administration said it was a reflection of its success in convincing women it was safe to do the trip to the poll booth. "We carried out door-to-door campaign. We arranged for 55 women booths in the district. Our target was to ensure an environment that was free of terror," said DM and ex-officio returning officer Y Ratnakar Rao.
All parties have fielded women: Congress gave three tickets, including to sitting MLAs Firoza Begum and Shaoni Singha Roy, Trinamool to Sujata Banerjee and Siddika Begum, BJP to Mala Bhattacharya and four women contested as independent candidates but they comprise a paltry 6% among Murshidabad candidates. Of the 169 in the fray in 22 seats, only 10 were women in six seats.
Parties are wary of the surge in women votes. District Trinamool general secretary Sukumar Adhikary claimed more women would mean greater support for Mamata Banerjee. "Didi did a lot for women," he said. District Congress spokesperson Ashoke Das claimed it showed Adhir Chowdhury symbolised honour and safety for women in Murshidabad."The CM may be a woman but the state has witnessed some of the most abhorring crimes against women," he said.