KOPPAL: Female voters seem to be keeping strong contenders in Koppal byelection on the tenterhooks. Since 1957, the fairer sex has been deprived of an opportunity to contest the assembly parliamentary elections in Koppal district on any party ticket though women account for almost half of the electorate.According to statistics, there are 92,729 female voters as against 95,467 male voters. Of late, poll contestants have been finding it hard to woo female voters on the basis of caste or money.For instance, Lalitarani Srirangadevarayalu with royal family background and her spouse Rangadevarayalu being a three-time MLA was a strong contender in 2008 for a BJP ticket in Gangavati assembly constituency. Yet, she was denied BJP ticket at the eleventh hour. As far Koppal is concerned, no political party has given room to the fairer sex to even stake claim for candidature.With awareness among women rising albeit gradually, they are unhappy with candidates of all the three major political parties and keeping them on the tenterhooks, a female functionary of the Congress party, on condition of anonymity told Express.Though female voters are keeping their options open in the present bypoll, eventually they too face problem of choice and have to vote for one of the contestants, she noted. Reservation of one of the five assembly constituencies in the district for women could budge the parties, she opined.
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