Women in Kerala have been getting a raw deal in Parliament elections over the years though they outnumber men on the electoral rolls in the state.
Not a single woman from the state got elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 despite both the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF putting them up in some of the seats.
Cutting across party lines, women politicians feel that this does not do credit to the state reputed for literacy and commendable track record on social development.
Since 1952, Kerala has sent only seven women leaders to the Lok Sabha.
Major political parties like the Congress, CPI (M) and BJP fielded only four women candidate in the last elections.
Women politicians feel that they would be able to tackle various issues with greater emotional involvement than men and their participation in Parliament should go up to meet the contemporary challenges.
According to Bindu Krishna, state president of the Mahila Congress, women politicians have been persistently denied the role they deserve in electoral politics by mainstream political parties despite their services to the respective party.
"There is a method in the way women are sidelined during the time of elections. Neither the Congress nor the Communist party is different in that. We are equally qualified and educated as male leaders. But, we are denied due opportunity during elections," Krishna, a probable candidate this time, told PTI.
"I think, not only women-related issues, but all the general issues could be tackled with greater ease and sincerity by women MPs. But, women leaders are not getting enough support from the party they belong. Women politicians themselves should step up pressure on the leadership to ensure that they received a fair deal," she said.
