Parties begin process to identify women candidates

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The increased participation of women in local governance following the reservation of 50 per cent seats will make political parties identify about 12,000 women to contest the local body elections in September.

Mobilising a legion of educated women candidates will be a daunting task for the parties, which have already taken the civic polls as an acid test to the 2011 Assembly elections.

Three corporations, 30 municipalities, seven district panchayats and about 490 grama panchayats will be headed by women. Political parties have already begun the process of identifying candidates for the reserved divisions, and choosing women with administrative experience and leadership acumen to head the civic bodies.

There were 988 graduates and 256 postgraduates among the elected women representatives in the previous elections.

As many as 693 graduates and 157 postgraduates got elected to the grama panchayats. While 119 graduates and 35 postgraduates were elected to the block panchayats, it was 46 and 12 respectively in the district panchayats. Among the women municipal councillors, there were 101 graduates and 36 postgraduates. The corporations had the lowest number, 29 graduates and 16 postgraduates.