A woman’s temperament and patience might just serve as the right recipe to address political violence if popular mantra is to be considered. However, the contention seems to fall apart in the case of West Bengal, which has the highest number of women candidates in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has fielded around 40 per cent female candidates in the polls with as many as 17 women making it to the party's list of 42 general election nominees.

According to Biswanath Chakraborty, Professor of Political Science in Rabindra Bharati University, fielding women candidates in different constituencies is more of a strategic move by Mamata Banerjee to reduce intra-party conflict and is not aimed at ensuring women empowerment.

A good number of these women candidates, particularly in the constituencies of Jadavpur and Basirhat, are actors who do not really have any political background, he told BusinessLine .

“A majority of these women have been chosen from glamour world because she knows these people will not raise any questions in front of her authoritarian leadership,” he says.

Women, in fact, are often considered as ‘proxy’ for their husbands or fathers, with no real contribution to the world of politics. However, Chakraborty concedes that while a good number of women are “simply spectators” who hardly question the leadership, there are also those who have been making their presence felt through their work.

“There are some women representatives from all the political parties in West Bengal who have independent voice, who have brought about some worthy difference in Parliament. As members, they are also involved in public life and doing justice to their constituency,” he says. So not all women are merely proxy.

A fresh perspective

Arpita Ghosh, MP, seeking re-election, feels women may help usher in fresh perspective in the field of politics and also contribute towards the greater benefit of society. “Women tend to take care of their family and understand their needs well. A state or a country is nothing but an extended family, so if a woman joins politics it is good for society,” she says. “Women tend to think in a different way and are not really into this maar-danga (violence) politics. So they will bring a different perspective,” she adds.

Aiding women empowerment

According to another MP, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the Mamata Banerjee government has been working towards ensuring women empowerment by improving the number of girl children going to school and preventing dropouts.

However, Dastidar believes that the rules of the game are same for both men and women.

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