Women played a key role in TRS victory

Secunderabad: With the election season coming to an end, the defeated candidates are busy analysing reasons for the defeat and the winners are still celebrating their victory. This election witnessed a substantial increase in women voter turnout in the state. It is observed that women showed more enthusiasm to vote in the state assembly elections. The higher women voter turnout impacted a couple of results as well. Women’s associations and self-help groups played a key role in increasing voter turnout, especially in the Secunderabad constituency.

Secunderabad constituency has many women associations and self-help groups and political parties went all out to get the support of these associations to get women votes. They sent their followers to women groups and promised them to provide means of employment, loans for self-help groups, and provide financial assistance to women entrepreneurs. During the 2014 elections, there were 1,770 women associations, but by 2018 there were 2,400 associations. While the women voter turnout was only 26 per cent in the 2014 elections, it doubled to 52 per cent in this election, thanks to the active role taken by the women groups. Members of women associations and self-help groups campaigned in favour of political parties and tried to attract more women towards their groups.

Women groups not only increased the voter turnout but also swung the result in favor of TRS party in the Secunderabad constituency. It is learnt that most of the groups in the constituency supported TRS candidate Padma Rao Goud as he maintained good relations with women groups during the last four years. TRS candidate took special interest in securing bank loans for women groups. Women associations in the constituency received most number of bank loans due to the special efforts by Padma Rao. He also ensured that women groups played important role in the Bathukamma celebration and always kept in touch with the women groups. Women group members also received help from CM relief funds for their emergency needs. Apart from these benefits, he ensured that government schemes such as Kalyanlakshmi and Shadimubarak have reached them.