Jaipur: The State Election Commission data shows that women account for nearly 36% of the candidates contesting the upcoming urban local body (ULB) elections in Rajasthan, with 13,891 women among the total 38,929 candidates in the fray. The data also points to significant representation of women from reserved categories, with 6,349 OBC women candidates, 3,055 SC women candidates and 558 ST women candidates, while 3,929 women candidates are from the general category. In comparison, 25,036 male candidates are contesting the elections, highlighting a substantial gender gap in the overall electoral field.The district-wise breakup shows that Jaipur has 2,643 candidates, the highest among the districts, comprising 900 women and 1,743 men. Jhunjhunu comes a close second with 2,407 candidates, including 884 women and 1,523 men, while Kotputli-Behror has 1,859 candidates, of whom 632 are women and 1,227 are men. Sikar has 1,768 candidates, with 615 women and 1,153 men.The districts of Alwar, Dausa, Churu and Ganganagar have a relatively high number of contestants. Alwar has 1,715 candidates, including 657 women while Dausa has 1,515 candidates, including 554 women. Churu has 1,546 candidates, including 559 women; and Ganganagar has 1,307 candidates, including 510 women.The SEC data also points to considerable differences in women’s participation across districts. Jhunjhunu has 502 OBC women candidates, the highest district-wise figure, followed by Kotputli-Behror with 383, Jaipur 375, Sikar with 331 and Churu with 318.SC women candidates are particularly prominent in Ganganagar, where 185 are contesting, followed by Jaipur with 182, Jhunjhunu with 175, Alwar with 159, Bharatpur with 151 and Dausa with 133. Among ST women candidates, Dausa has the highest number at 74, followed by Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur with 43 each, and Karauli with 39.At the other end of the spectrum, Salumber has the fewest candidates at 62, with only 21 women and 41 men. Dungarpur has 195 candidates, including 69 women, while Phalodi has 194 candidates, of whom 74 are women. Pratapgarh has 290 candidates, including 103 women.Overall, the district-wise figures indicate that while women constitute a sizeable share of the electoral field, male candidates continue to substantially outnumber women across the state. Of the 38,929 contestants, men account for about 64.3%, compared with 35.7% women. The category-wise figures show that OBC candidates form the largest group among both women and men, with 6,349 OBC women and 11,835 OBC men in the fray. SC candidates account for 3,055 women and 5,528 men, while the ST category has 558 women and 1,111 men.The general category has 3,929 women and 6,562 men contesting the elections.
