Ranchi, Oct 25 (PTI) Political parties in Jharkhand are trying to win the support of women voters in Ghatsila bypoll, where they outnumber men by nearly five per cent.
Out of 2,56,252 voters in the Ghatsila constituency, 1,31,180 are women and 1,25,078 are men.
The JMM, a part of the ruling alliance, is banking on its most popular initiative, ‘Maiyan Samman Yojana’, while the opposition BJP is trying to galvanise women’s support with various central schemes and highlighting “rising incidents of crime against women” in the state, party leaders said.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Manoj Pandey said the voters, especially women, in tribal areas have traditionally been with the party.
“The support got stronger after the launch of the woman welfare scheme ‘Maiyan Samman Yojana’, which is empowering them economically and socially,” Pandey told PTI.
The beneficiaries under the programme, launched last year, get an assistance of Rs 2,500 per month.
The scheme is considered to be a major factor which reportedly helped the JMM-led coalition government return to power for the second consecutive term in the 2024 assembly polls.
Pandey said the government has also launched several other schemes to empower women in the state.
“Besides, we have our two top star campaigners–Chief Minister Hemant Soren and MLA Kalpana Soren, who are the most loved persons among the voters. So, we are confident to get complete support from women,” he added.
The BJP is also confident of winning over the women voters in this bypoll.
“The ‘Maiyan Samman Yojana’ was a political gimmick of the JMM-led government. There is resentment among women over the scheme, as the government had initially given the benefit to 65 lakh beneficiaries, but after the 2024 assembly elections, the number was reduced to less than 40 lakh,” BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo alleged.
He said women’s safety has been one of the major concerns in the state under the rule of the JMM-led alliance.
“Crimes against women, such as cases of rape, murder and others, are at their peak. Women of the state want a change now, which will begin from Ghatsila,” he alleged while talking to PTI.
He claimed that women’s empowerment has been the priority of the BJP-led central government.
“Hordes of schemes and projects such as LPG connections under the ‘Ujjwala’ scheme, ‘Beti Padhao- Beti Bachao’, ‘Matru Vandana’ programme were launched to uplift women of society. Besides, the PM-JANMAN scheme was also rolled out to provide essential services to marginalised tribal groups,” Shahdeo said.
Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said the number of women voters is usually higher than that of men in the tribal areas of the state.
“According to our observations, women in tribal-majority areas have a higher life expectancy than men. Additionally, the sex ratio is favourable to women in these regions,” Kumar told PTI.
Voting for the Ghatsila bypoll will be held on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.
The Ghatsila by-election was necessitated due to the death of sitting JMM MLA Ramdas Soren on August 15.
The ruling JMM has nominated Ramdas’ son Somesh Chandra Soren for the bypoll, while the BJP has fielded Babulal Soren, son of former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren.
Thirteen candidates are in the fray for the Ghatsila assembly byelection after the withdrawal of candidature concluded on Friday.
As many as 300 polling stations are being set up to hold the bypoll.
The chief electoral officer said there will be three all-women booths, two for persons with disabilities and one will be managed by the youth. PTI SAN BDC
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