The fact that a higher number of women have registered as voters is apparently going to affect who wins in the upcoming Rajshahi City Corporation mayoral race.
Since female voters outnumber male voters in Rajshahi city, both the Awami League and BNP backed candidates are now busy wooing female voters to get hold of that particular demographics vote banks.They have also included several points targeted towards the female audience in their election pledges.
A huge number of female campaigners, including the wives of the two mayoral candidates, were going door to door yesterday to meet every female member of each family in the electoral area. Even popular singer Momtaj, a ruling party lawmaker, was seen requesting votes for the AL-backed candidate.
According to Rajshahi regional election commission office, a total of 286,888 registered voters are expected to participate in the city polls on June 15. Among them, 143,502 are female and 143,386 male. Besides, 28,000 new voters, mostly young people, have also been added to the list.
“While casting their votes, I think women will consider a candidate’s educational background and qualifications, his contributions to women development and attitude towards the female community. Therefore, they will decide the candidates’ fate,” said Ayesha Khatun, an employee of a private bank.
Farzana Parvin, a housewife from the city’s Ramchandrapur area, said: “I will see who has the ability to do development work and also, if he is educated.”
Ruling party-backed mayoral candidate, AHM Khairuzzaman, who has been nominated by Rajshahi Nagorik Committee, a non-political body of pro-liberation and progressive forces, incorporated several issues addressing the female vote bank in his recent campaign.
He vowed to initiate programmes in every ward, with the help of women leaders and civil society members, against torture and oppression
of women. He also promised to set up garment factories to create huge employment opportunities for women.
He even pledged to provide gas connections to every household to benefit the women, who do most of the
cooking.
Opposition-backed and Sammilito Nagorik Forum nominated candidate, Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, said
he will allocate Tk50,000 to every ward to be disbursed as loans to women,
“so they can do something and
become independent earners”.
He also vowed that household gas connections will get priority over industrial ones.