PANJIM: Nari Shakti Bandana may be the go to political programme of the ruling party, and the search for women candidates in South Goa many be on, but hardly have political parties backed women power in Goa’s Assembly.
And when it comes to women cabinet ministers, there were none in Manohar Parrikar’s first cabinet, Pratapsingh Rane’s cabinet from 2005 to 2007, and Digambar Kamat’s cabinet from 2007 to 2012.
At any given time, Goa had maximum three women MLAs. Even during erstwhile Goa Daman and Diu in 1984, three women were nominated as MLAs.
Today the BJP in Goa may have three women MLAs but Goa is among 19 States which has less than 10 per cent women MLAs.
After Goa attained Statehood, and since 1989, Goa had one women Minister till October 2000.
For the first time, BJP secured simple majority in 2012 Assembly elections but the party did not field a single woman candidate the reason being winnability factor. But during Parrikar’s third stint, Alina Saldanha was inducted as a Cabinet Minister after she won a by-election necessitated due to demise of her husband Matanhy Saldanha.
In 2017 elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave maximum five tickets to women candidates followed by three by Congress party and two by BJP. Only two women – Alina Saldanha (BJP) and Jennifer Monserrate (Congress) were elected. Alina was inducted as a Minister.
Though the BJP has now three women MLAs none of them have been inducted in the cabinet. Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao recently criticised the BJP for organising Nari Shakti programmes but not inducting one of the women MLAs into the Cabinet.
