Elections & 'she' factor: Promises galore as parties put spotlight on women

In the poll-bound states, all parties are aggressively wooing women with promises of cash grants, a bigger voice in policy-making, and greater representation. But is this what women want?

It’s election time and the opinion of women has suddenly begun to matter a lot. Judging by the promises made by political parties in the five poll-bound states, gender is being tapped as a significant differentiator by political parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as much earlier this week. He told party workers they had a “very big task” to reach out to women voters. “The support of sisters like you is my real power,” Modi told a woman on his campaign trail in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency.

The powerful appeal to gender to mark a significant difference was