What exactly do women in Kerala have to do to get counted? They outnumber men in the total population and electorate, run the state’s largest self-help group aimed at ending poverty, and are equal drivers of growth in the critical education and health sectors. Yet, when it comes to political representation in the state, women are far away in the margins. They are nowhere on the top hierarchies of the state’s chief political parties, have little or no decision-making power at critical junctures and are mostly handed tickets from constituencies where they have slender chances of winning. In short, their role in the state and national politics has been abysmal. Since 1951, there have been just 12 times that a woman has been elected to the Lok Sabha from the southern state. In 1951, it began with Annie Mascarene who fought and won as an Independent from Trivandrum constituency in the then Travancore-Cochin state. Six of the 16 Lok Sabha tenures have seen no woman parliamentarians from Kerala, most recently in the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009-14 when all of the 20 elected MPs were men. Susheela Gopalan of the CPI(M) has been the most successful woman MP from the state, winning three times to Parliament. One of the founding members of the party and married to veteran leader AK Gopalan, Susheela trounced Congress rivals twice in Alappuzha and once in erstwhile Chirayankeezhu constituency. Ironically, though, she was defeated by one vote in the state committee of the CPI(M) when an overwhelming male lobby overlooked her for chief ministership and sided with EK Nayanar in 1996. However, the Left has had a better record than the Congress in getting women elected to Lok Sabha. Nine of the 12 times a woman has made it to Lok Sabha, it has been on the ‘hammer-sickle’ symbol. Savithri Lakshmanan is the only woman Congress MP ever elected to Lok Sabha, twice from erstwhile Mukundapuram in 1989 and 1991. Decades later, one would imagine the highly literate, socially empowered Kerala, the only major state in the country to have more women voters than men, to have more women MPs. Unfortunately, that is not to be. In 2014, PK Sreemathy of the CPI(M) was the sole woman MP from the state, winning from the party stronghold of Kannur. Out of a record 269 women candidates in the fray in 2014, only six of them were given tickets from a mainstream political party. In 2009 and 2004, 15 women candidates were in the fray, out of which only two were elected. So, with Lok Sabha elections around the corner and major political coalitions in the midst of final discussions over ticket distribution, is the picture any rosier this time? Unlikely. Much like in 2014, a large number of women are likely to contest as Independents or from relatively unknown parties but hopes of them being given a decent share of the tickets from main political parties are low. Also read | Annie Mascarene: Freedom fighter, nation builder, guardian of democracy and Kerala’s first MP The CPI, the second biggest party in the Left coalition, was the first to finalise its candidate list earlier this week. But, unsurprisingly, it has fielded men in all the four seats it traditionally contests. It’s the big brother in the state, the CPI(M), which is currently holding the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram and is likely to put a final stamp on the candidates' list later this week. However, from the reports emerging from the secretariat in the Malayalam media, the party may not field women from more than two seats out of its allocated share of 16 seats. PK Sreemathi, the sitting MP from Kannur, is likely to get the nod once again. In Pathanamthitta, the epicentre of the Sabarimala protests last year, the party may go for Veena George, journalist-turned-MLA from Aranmula. The seat is currently held by the Congress. Things are particularly bad for women leaders in the Congress despite pleas by the Mahila Congress for tickets. Last month, Mahila Congress state chief Lathika Subhash held a press conference demanding at least three seats where the party enjoys wide popularity. “Deserving women candidates who work hard for the party must be brought forward. Not those who are steamrolled as ‘new’ faces with questionable traits,” Subhash said at the conference. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, in an interview to The Indian Express last month, said winnability will be the only factor when it comes to discussing candidates. Last month, when party president Rahul Gandhi came calling, he urged state leaders to ensure more women representation from the stage where he spoke. He is also said to have directed the state unit to improve its reputation when it comes to fielding female faces. In 2014, the party fielded KA Sheeba in Alathur (SC) and Bindu Krishna in Attingal, constituencies with a predominant Leftist electorate. Both women lost by big margins. This time, Krishna’s name is again being talked about as one of the frontrunners. Shanimol Usman, former president of the Mahila Morcha, is another name also doing the rounds. It’s unlikely that the party will give tickets to more than women candidates. As far as the Congress’ allies in the state are concerned, both IUML and KC(M) have a terrible record of women candidates. The parties, which contest two and one seats, respectively, have no prominent woman in their leadership and are most unlikely to field any. For the BJP, Sobha Surendran, a national executive member and former president of the state Mahila Morcha, is the best bet. Surendran fought the last election in 2014 from Palakkad but ended in the third spot. This time, she may be fielded again from Palakkad or Attingal, both seats where the party is not a favourite to win. With all three parties focusing less on gender representation but more on winnability, Kerala’s track record on sending more women to Parliament is unlikely to improve.
