Major parties give raw deal to BCs, women

Hyderabad: The political parties which promised that they would take adequate care of BCs and women by giving the highest representation have failed to implement it in practice. The explanation they have given while releasing the list of candidates is that they have to take care that winning horses are put in fray in as many seats as possible while ensuring social justice.

The list of candidates released by the major political parties indicates that BCs which constitute over 60 per cent population in the new Telangana State have got a raw deal in the allotment of tickets from every political party. Congress allotted 37 seats (only 30 per cent) off the 113 Assembly constituencies in which the party fielded candidates. TRS has given 28 seats (24 per cent) out of 119 seats, and the TDP-BJP alliance allotted only 23 (19 per cent seats) seats to the BCs.

Interestingly, Lok Satta State president Katari Srinivasa Rao said that it is only his party which has kept its promise. The credit for electing a BC as its State President goes to the Lok Satta Party which shuns politics of dynasty. This is in sharp contrast to other parties which promise higher representation to BCs in elected offices on the eve of elections. While some promise top positions in the party to BCs, some others offer even the post of Chief Minister, Rao said. One out of every three candidates that the LSP named in the 2009 General Elections was a BC. Of the 45 candidates contesting the Assembly elections in Telangana in 2014, 19 are BCs, 6 SCs and two STs. After the formation of Telangana, all the political parties vied each other in announcing sops including allotment of majority seats to the BCs to woo them. The TDP went a step forward and announced that the first Chief Minister of Telangana state would be from the BCs if the party was voted to power. But, in practice, when the list was announced, it contained only 18 seats out of 72 from where the party fielded its candidates.

TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao also toed the TDP line by allotting only a few seats to the BCs as against the party’s promise to give 50 per cent of the seats to the backward communities. Interestingly, compared to all other parties, it is only the Congress which seems to have allotted more seats to BCs as compared to the TRS or TDP. The party had allotted 37 seats in Telangana out of 119 seats. The tall promises made by the parties in regard to the empowerment of women also seems to have failed as only nine women Congress leaders got the tickets. The TRS gave tickets to 10 women candidates. The TDP allotted 6 seats and BJP gave only 5 seats to women leaders.

When it comes to women candidates, barring TRS no other party including the ruling Congress has given tickets in the Lok Sabha elections. Kavitha who heads Telangana Jagruti and is the daughter of KCR is the only female face in the names announced for 17 LS seats in T region. The situation in respect of the Assembly election is little better as all parties put together have given 30 Assembly seats out of 119 to the women.