‘3 seats for Council poll, 30 for Assembly’

Cong’s women wing chief Dr Pushpa Amarnath looks forward to a fair deal for women aspirants in coming polls

By SHYAM SUNDAR VATTAM | NT

Bengaluru: Women are inevitably given a raw deal when it comes to elections and no party is an exception to this trend. The recent announcement by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that 40 per cent seats would be given to women in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, has rekindled hopes of a fair deal for women Congress leaders in Karnataka. KPCC women’s wing president Dr Pushpa Amarnath has been striving to ensure justice for women when the 2023 Assembly polls are due. She spoke to News Trail about her plans.

What are the activities you are planning to make the women’s cell more powerful in the state?

We are holding a number of programmes jointly with the Pradesh Congress Committee all over the state. Women Congress members had hit the road when a girl was sexually assaulted in Mysuru. Similarly, we held a protest in Bengaluru on the issue of women’s safety. The cell has been conducting one programme after the other to remain active on state issues.

As you know, the election to 25 seats in the Legislative Council is slated to be held on December 10. How many seats have you demanded for women candidates?

I have demanded tickets for at least three women candidates. I have personally sought a ticket to contest from Mysuru as only one family has been given the ticket. I had worked as president of Mysuru Zilla Panchayat and I can be the voice of women in the Upper House. The sitting Congress MLC, N Dharmasena has been elected twice to the Legislature.

Why do you deserve the ticket? Please explain?

You know that only women can understand the problems of women. As President of Mysuru Zilla Panchayat, I had launched a special programme for the promotion of sanitary pads. I think a male president would not have conceived a programme like I did. The father of our Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar always stood for women’s empowerment. As a Dalit woman, I want to work for the welfare of each and every women. I had made a significant contribution to the protection of the environment. So, am I not a deserving candidate to enter the Legislative Council?.

Why do you want to contest the Council polls and not the Assembly elections?

Firstly, I worked as ZP president and so I know members of the local bodies quite well. I tried to get the ticket to contest from Kollegal or Nanjangud which are reserved constituencies, in the 2018 Assembly polls but I did not succeed. To begin with, I think the Council is the best forum for me to fight for the cause of women.

The Assembly election in Karnataka is due to be held in another 17 months. How many seats will you demand for women candidates?

In the 2018 elections, our party gave 16 of the total 224 seats to women candidates and we won six. More than demanding tickets we need to see how many constituencies we can win. We cannot tell our party leaders to give 40 or 50 seats to women candidates as there will be male aspirants too. Initially, I will demand 30 seats for women and then insist on a higher number. The party may give us more tickets this time but we need to win those constituencies as every seat is important.

Recently, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had announced that 40 per cent of the tickets would be given to women in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. Will you demand a similar formula for Karnataka too?

The politics of Uttar Pradesh is totally different compared to Karnataka. What we need is just 30 or 40 tickets for women so that our numbers are more in the state Assembly. I have already met AICC President Sonia Gandhi ji and discussed this with her. We are optimistic of getting a fair deal in the coming election.

How will the party decide the constituencies to be allotted to women candidates?

To make their job easier, our cell is conducting a survey to identify the constituencies where women candidates stand a good chance of winning. The survey is going on in select constituencies. Once it is over, the findings will be discussed with the party leader in charge of the cell and it will then be presented to the high command. During my tenure, I want to help women members as much as possible.