After 16 years, district gets 1st woman MLA

Coimbatore: After 16 years, Coimbatore gets its first woman MLA. Kasthuri Vasu of AIADMK won in Valapari constituency by a margin of 8244 votes. Out of the three women candidates only one turned out to be victorious in Coimbatore in the 2016 assembly election. While Meena Logu of DMK stood second in Coimbatore North, Vanathi Srinivasan of BJP stood third in Coimbatore South.
Kasthuri Vasu V, 56, who won the Valparai constituency, said that she was extremely happy that her efforts paid off. "I will ensure that I fulfil all my promises including increasing the wages of the estate workers and improving the facilities in my constituency," she said. Her win was a major boost to women candidates in the region. "More women candidates should come forward and contest elections. Often, parties do not field many women candidates," she said. She attributed her victory to J Jayalalithaa. "Since she is a woman and has done much for women in Tamil Nadu in the last five years, people trusted me," she said.
Meena Logu of DMK party on the other hand said some internal party feud acted against her as she lost by 7724 votes. "Last year, the margin of loss was over 42000 votes. I am glad that the vote share has increased. But money power has played against me in the rural segment," she said. She also said that she would continue to work in her constituency and would protest if the AIADMK candidate did not fulfil his promises. She added that one of the major challenges for women candidates is support in the party. "We are still a patriarchal society where women have to struggle to succeed in any sphere of life," she said.