33 per cent quota for women mere lip service by major Dravidian parties

While the DMK-led alliance has named only three women candidates (DMK – two and Congress – one), the AIADMK and its allies have nominated just two candidates, including the BJP’s candidate - Tamilisai. TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK has nominated three women candidates.

DMK has nominated late party chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi and Thamilachi Thangapandian from Thoothukudi and Chennai South LS seats respectively while Congress has fielded Jothimani in Karur. The AIADMK has re-nominated sitting Kancheepuram MP Maragatham Kumaravel and BJP fielded state party chief Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan from Thoothukudi seat.

For a party, which pitches itself as an alternative for Dravidian majors, Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam also nominated just two candidates.

The only exception is director Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi, which has fielded women in equal number of seats, that is 50 per cent share has been given to the women. It has announced 20 women candidates for the 40 LS seats, including the lone Puducherry seat.

The PMK, DMDK, CPM, CPI, MDMK and VCK lists show blank in terms of women candidates.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK which contested in all the 39 seats, nominated only four women, while its arch rival DMK fielded just two women candidates. The Congress, which announced candidates for 38 seats named three women candidates. The Left parties contesting in 17 seats fielded three women.

A woman leader in the DMK said that party giving token representation to women in the elections does not augur well for the party’s future. Pointing to the NTK’s move to nominate 50 per cent of women in the LS polls, she said that the DMK which always stood for social justice should have named more women candidates. “Even the two-women candidate nominated by the party were daughters of a former chief minister and a state minister,” she noted.

AIDWA state secretary P Suganthi blamed the political parties for not nominating more women candidates. “Parties fail to encourage women to take up leadership roles. In case of women emerging as a leader, the male dominated party leadership by default select men as candidates,” she said.

Senior advocate and women rights activist Sudha Ramalingam stated that parties nominating fewer women candidates even after supporting their reservation bill in manifestos shows their level of commitment. “If they (parties) are committed (to give due representation to women), they can do it even without the law. This only shows the imminent need for the law for 33 per cent reservation for women if not 50 per cent,” she said.