Two women square off in Hoshiarpur: one to wrest it, other to retain
As the general elections heat up, both contenders are holding meetings with party leaders, workers, especially woman workers, intensifying their efforts to have the woman voters in their corner, and organising public events to get political support.
3 min read
Congress’s Yamini Gomar (left) and BJP’s Anita Som Parkash (right)IN PUNJAB, out of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies, Hoshiarpur stands out alongside Bathinda as one of the few with multiple woman candidates in fray for the June 1 elections.
The Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency will see a unique showdown in the polls as Congress’s Yamini Gomar squares off against BJP’s Anita Som Parkash, wife of the incumbent BJP MP from Hoshiarpur, Som Parkash. Hoshiarpur parliamentary seat is one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Doaba region. The other being Jalandhar. Both parliamentary constituencies are reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
Gomar, an MBA graduate, was one of the founding members of the AAP in Punjab. She contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, securing 2.13 lakh votes but came a poor third behind BJP and Congress candidates. Unhappy with the AAP’s policies, she left the party in 2016 to join the Congress.
Anita Som Parkash, the BJP candidate from Hoshiarpur, is a social worker and is contesting elections for the first time. Although both leaders haven’t hit the ground running yet, they intend to intensify their election campaign after filing their nomination papers. While speaking to The Indian Express, Gomar advocated urgent issues concerning the constituency.
Giving emphasis to the region’s diverse landscape, she highlights its potential as a tourism hub and the need for infrastructure development to address issues such as wildlife management, farmers’ issues and unemployment, besides turning her focus on education. Gomar on the stump has also been criticising the sitting MP for neglecting these issues in the constituency.
She also awakens woman voters to fight for their rights instead of placing blind faith in ‘false promises’ of the AAP. Gomar points out that during the 2022 Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, the AAP had promised to transfer Rs 1,000 per month into the account of every woman aged 18 or above, if voted to power, but it (AAP) has failed to fulfill that promise. Gomar also questions the AAP’s commitment to gender equality, highlighting the absence of any female candidate in all the 13 Lok Sabha seat nominees announced by the party. She encourages women to demand answers from the AAP on these issues.
On the other hand, Anita Som Parkash is banking on development plank to win votes. Speaking to The Indian Express, she highlights various infrastructure projects– including road expansion, railway line construction, and railway stations at Phagwara and Hoshiarpur getting facelift – seeing the light of day under the sitting BJP MP as signs of progress in the region.
Anita Som Parkash is also a social worker deeply associated with various charitable organisations. She works with multiple NGOs that provide free medication to the impoverished, serve nutritious meals to the needy at a nominal cost of Rs 10, empower underprivileged girls by providing them with sewing machines, and support education by donating books and fee to deserving students.
Both candidates are actively engaging with voters and seeking support from community leaders. Gomar recently visited Dera Sach Khand Ballan in Jalandhar, the largest Dera of the Ravidassia community, which has a significant following in Hoshiarpur district.
As the general elections heat up, both contenders are holding meetings with party leaders, workers, especially woman workers, intensifying their efforts to have the woman voters in their corner, and organising public events to get political support.
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