Women’s Day 2019: Could women hold key to 2019 elections?

NEW DELHI: In India, women were granted the right to exercise their vote along with men in 1947, and the country saw its first female PM way back in 1966, but the participation of women in exercising their

votes

wasn't huge. But today they are making their presence felt by turning up to vote in large numbers.

Female

voter turnout

increased to 65.6% in 2014 from 46.5% in 1962 elections. More female participation in voting has narrowed the gap between male and female voters. Back in 1962, the gap was a whopping 16.7 per cent which got shrunk to mere 1.5 per cent in 2014. With

elections

to the 17th

Lok Sabha

a few weeks away, it’s best if politicians don’t ignore women voters.