Tamil Nadu: As parties are well aware, women voters are key to success

Women voters form a majority of the electorate in Tamil Nadu, and are set to play a decisive role in the state’s 39 Lok Sabha seats. All the parties including the DMK and the BJP are leaving no stone unturned to win their confidence.

The observation that the AIADMK has not been wooing women voters hard enough (not as much as during J Jayalalithaa's time) is also helping the case of the DMK and the BJP.

Ironically, women candidates constitute a meagre 8 per cent of the total 945 candidates fielded from the state’s 39 Lok Sabha seats.

Women voters exceed men

According to the latest data, the state has 3.14 crore women voters against 3.03 crore men voters. The number of women voters exceeded that of men for the first time during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. That year, 2.758 women cast their vote against 2.752 crore men.

In the 2019 polls, women once again outnumbered men by a much wider difference – there were 3.03 crore women voters against 2.96 crore men voters.

While the DMK, with its slew of women’s welfare schemes including financial assistance of ₹1,000 and free bus service, hopes to win over women voters, the BJP hopes to strike a chord with women with its flagship Mudra loan and Lakpathi Didi schemes.

The AIADMK, on the other hand, has accused the ruling DMK of discontinuing all women-centric welfare schemes introduced during the rule of Jayalalithaa, including the popular marriage assistance scheme of Thalikku Thangam Thittam and ₹50,000 monetary assistance programme.

AIADMK feeling the pinch

The AIADMK’s inability to touch base with women voters with the same enthusiasm as shown during Jayalalithaa's time threatens to erode its popularity among women.

The party, since the demise of Jayalalithaa in 2016, has witnessed several downturns including frequent change of leadership, internal feuds and defections with many of its leaders shifting to the DMK and the BJP. Its waning fortunes paired with the DMK’s rollout of women-centric schemes has turned voters in favour of the latter.

Women voters The Federal interacted with said that the current crop of AIADMK leaders are unable to fill the shoes of Jayalalithaa.

Many instead expressed satisfaction with the DMK government’s welfare schemes.

‘None can replace Jayalalithaa’

Forty-two-year-old K Jeeva, a resident of Tiruvannamalai, is one of the many women voters seeking an alternative woman leader in the absence of Jayalalithaa.

“I’m not interested in politics, but I voted for Jayalalithaa because I liked her confidence. My daughter received one sovereign gold and ₹50,000 for her wedding. I felt proud as my daughter got the gift directly from Jayalalithaa. But she is no more, and the party is crumbling. I am not sure if I will opt for AIADMK this time,” she said.

She never paid much attention to the candidates contesting in her constituency, she recounted. What she voted for was the two-leaves symbol (representing AIADMK).

Jayalalithaa is remembered for her various initiatives such as breastfeeding rooms, 'Amma Unavagam' subsidised canteens, and the cradle baby scheme among others – models which were replicated by other state governments subsequently.

New hope for DMK in Kongu belt

The DMK government has capitalised on the schemes by extending similar benefits for women. Party leaders have gone to great lengths to point out that women are now able to save a substantial amount every month due to the free bus scheme. The DMK government had conducted a thorough survey on the scheme before the elections, helping the party expand its footprints in untouched territories.

Vegetable seller K Nithya of Thondamuthur in Coimbatore is one of several beneficiaries of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam scheme and zero-ticket bus travel schemes introduced by the MK Stalin government in 2021. Voters like her are leaning towards the DMK, and this change is giving hope to the party in the Kongu belt. Under the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam scheme, a monthly assistance of ₹1,000 is being provided to the woman heads of families.

“When I got ₹1,000 credited in my account, I couldn’t believe it was true. I was really excited. I had to spend ₹60 daily for bus transport. When ticket-free travel was made possible for women like me, it came as a boon. My relatives told me I’m lucky,” she told The Federal.

TM Selvaganapathy, the DMK candidate in the Salem constituency, the hometown of AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, said the price rise of gas cylinders in the BJP regime and infighting within the AIADMK have made them unpopular.

“Many lives have changed in the Dravidian model regime. Our schemes are directly impacting women. So they will reject AIADMK and BJP,” he said.

BJP pins hopes on Mudra benefits

In the case of the BJP, senior party functionary and sitting MLA from Coimbatore, Vanathi Srinivasan, claims that loans worth ₹3 lakh crore under the Mudra scheme disbursed to women in the state in the past three years have attracted hard-core AIADMK supporters towards the BJP.

“We could see the growth of women with the Mudra loan scheme. Our manifesto has promised to provide loans up to ₹20 lakh, which earlier used to be ₹10 lakh. We want to empower women and improve their living standards, which is possible with the Mudra loan. After Jayalalithaa, many women voters believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a great leader for Tamil Nadu. So we are sure women will vote for BJP this time,’’ she said.

What’s behind the changing vote pattern?

Political scientist Alamu has been studying the change in the voting pattern in Tamil Nadu after the demise of Jayalalithaa and DMK leader M Karunanidhi.

‘’It is interesting to see that all the parties are making the best efforts to serve women voters. I could see a shift of women voters from AIADMK to DMK and BJP. One strong reason would be the monthly assistance and free bus schemes introduced by the DMK. Some women lean towards BJP because of its thrust on Hindutva. A section of first-time women voters in Coimbatore, which is claimed to be the fort of AIADMK, is showing interest in voting for BJP candidate K Annamalai. So, there will be a loss for AIADMK, but the significance can be studied only after the results are out,” she said.

Red flags for DMK

Cautioning that all is not well for the DMK, she said that a section of women upset by the Stalin government’s cancellation of the Thaliku Thangam scheme and financial assistance of ₹50,000 for a wedding may not vote for the party.

While the state government’s monthly assistance scheme worth ₹13,000 crore is supposed to cater to one crore women, many whose applications for the scheme’s benefits were rejected are understandably unhappy. DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recently sought to mollify disgruntled beneficiaries, telling them that additional allotments are on the way.

AIADMK stays strong, steady

When asked about the prospect of losing women voters, AIADMK leader and former minister D Jayakumar said his party is deeply concerned about keeping the women vote bank intact.

“Yes, we agree that the loss of a leader like Jayalalithaa couldn’t be fixed. But we continue to have the support of women voters because the party continues to function with the same policies. The welfare of women is just another election strategy for the DMK, but it is the main motto of our founder leaders. So, women will vote for us,” he told The Federal.

When asked about fielding women candidates, he said, “Our party fielded Jansi Rani in Tirunelveli, which is an important constituency. We chose to provide opportunities for grassroots level workers and leaders, which you cannot see in other parties. We stay strong and actually women who are unhappy and feel hurt about DMK’s unfair treatment want to vote for us.”

The irony of it all

It is interesting to note that despite the aspirations of major parties to get the support of women and their votes, only 8 per cent of the total 945 candidates fielded from the 39 Lok Sabha seats are women.

As per the candidate list of the political parties, 77 candidates are women among a total of 945 candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha polls. Among all other parties, Nam Tamizhar Katchi allotted 20 seats – which is 50 per cent of its total seats – to women candidates while AIADMK fielded just one woman.

The DMK-Congress combine and the BJP are each fielding six women contestants.