Women voters outnumber men in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing a political awakening of its women, if the voting pattern in the April 16 election to the Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency is any indication.       

At the Sagalle assembly segment in Papum Pare district, the final voting figures show that in 26 out of the 36 polling stations, female voters outnumbered male.       

According to Papum Pare District Election Officer, Bidol Tayeng, out of a total 8,379 votes cast in 36 polling stations at Sagalee, 4,040 were by males and 4,379 by females.       

The election officials here said this pattern had been reflected in other segments also, but could not provide the statistics.       

Tayeng said that even in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, there were more women seen in queues before polling stations than men.       

Local legislator and PWD & UD Minister Nabam Tuki said, "Sagalle is one of the 60 constituencies in the state where women's participation in the electoral process compares favourably with states like Kerala."    

Though the electoral history in this tribal-dominated land-locked state dates back to 1975 only, the high voter turnout, 68.42 per cent in the just-concluded election, demonstrated the political consciousness of the people, the officials said.