Congress Leader Shama Mohamed Criticizes Low Women Representation in Kerala Polls
Congress leader Shama Mohamed has publicly voiced strong concerns regarding the alarmingly low representation of women in the party's candidate list for the upcoming Kerala assembly elections. In a direct appeal, she has urged senior leader Rahul Gandhi to intervene and address this significant gender disparity within the state unit.
Details of the Gender Imbalance
In a detailed post on social media platform X, Mohamed highlighted the stark numbers. Out of the 92 tickets announced by the Congress for the Kerala assembly polls, a mere nine have been allotted to women candidates. This translates to women constituting less than 10% of the party's nominees.
Mohamed further contrasted this with the recent Lok Sabha elections, where the party's performance in Kerala was similarly imbalanced. Among the 16 candidates fielded by the Congress in the state for the parliamentary elections, only one was a woman.
Emphasizing resilience in the face of exclusion, Mohamed concluded her post with the powerful phrase, "Denied but not defeated," while making a fervent appeal to Rahul Gandhi to actively support and empower women leaders within the Kerala Congress organization.
Congress Finalizes Candidate List
These critical remarks from Shama Mohamed come just one day after the Congress party officially finalized its slate of candidates for the Kerala assembly elections. Leader of the Opposition in the state, V.D. Satheesan, confirmed that the party has locked in all 95 nominees it intends to contest.
"We had announced 55 candidates earlier and have now finalised the remaining 40. The selection process is complete, and we will now move into campaign mode," Satheesan stated, marking the end of the candidate selection phase.
Election Schedule in Kerala
The state of Kerala is set to vote in a single phase on April 9. The counting of votes for the assembly elections is scheduled to take place on May 4, which will determine the next government in the southern state.
The issue raised by Shama Mohamed puts a spotlight on the ongoing challenge of achieving gender parity in political representation within major Indian political parties, even as they prepare for crucial electoral battles.
