Will Salcete-Bardez women decide the winners?

Perhaps for the first time, the Goa woman has puzzled all the political analysts, leaving them guessing till 16 May, whom she voted for in such a large number, especially in the Christian dominated talukas like Salcete, Bardez and Tiswadi.

While Goa has only 4475 more female voters than the male voters, the actual voting in the Lok Sabha 2014 poll held in Goa on 12 April was 25,671 more women coming out than men.

This is almost six times more the number of the additional female voters Goa has.

In terms of percentage, 79 per cent female have voted compared to 75 per cent male voters.

In terms of actual numbers, 4.20 lakh women have voted while male voting is 3.94 lakh, a difference of around 28,000.

Out of 40 Assembly segments Goa has, 24 segments have more women voters but in reality women voting is more in almost 28 segments.

Only Priol and Marcaim, both in Ponda taluka but in the North and South Lok Sabha constituencies, have recorded less women voting in spite of having more women voters.

In comparison, almost six Assembly segments have recorded more women voting despite having less women voters – Mayem, Dabolim, Cortalim, Margao, Navelim and Quepem.

A little deeper analysis in the actual figures reveals that eight Assembly segments in Salcete talukas have overscored all other women who have come out in large numbers from other talukas, especially in South Goa Lok Sabha constituency.

Similar is the trend seen in North Goa constituency, where more women have come out to vote only in Bardez and Tiswadi talukas.

MORE WOMEN VOTERS (TALUKA-WISE) IN LS POLL 2014

SOUTH GOA

It is not only Salcete in South Goa, but also more women have come out to vote in Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona, but no match to Salcete.

Almost 16,000 more women have voted in Salcete, compared to 1974 in Quepem, 1386 in Sanguem and 1110 in Canacona, which is a total of hardly 4470 more women in rest of the three talukas.

In Mormugao and Ponda talukas, more men have voted than women, total 512.

It is a fact that Salcete has more women voters than men, but the number does not cross 4300. But the women polling is almost three and a half times more than the men in Salcete.

It is difficult to guess whether this huge number of women voting in Salcete was due to the appeal made by the Church to defeat ‘communal’ forces or an enthusiastic response to the Parrikar government’s pro-women schemes like Griha Adhar and Laadli Laxmi.

But it is also a fact that such over-enthusiasm was not visible in other talukas of South Goa.

Considering that hundreds of men in Salcete cannot come for voting since they work abroad, such enthusiasm among women was not seen in 2009 Lok Sabha election. It was almost close to the voting by men in Salcete.

Whether the Saxttikar women came out to defeat the Congress also this time like two years ago or in response to the Church appeal is a matter of guess.

Quepem taluka also recorded more female voting of around 2000 when two Assembly segments in this taluka have 44 less women than men.

Sanguem has 752 more women voters but the polling is by 1386 more women.

Similarly, Canacona has only 33 more women but almost 1110 more women came to the polling booths.

Though Mormugao taluka shows 190 more men voting, the break-up of the four Assembly segments shows that the male voters overscored the female only in Vasco and Mormugao – the port cities – and not in Dabolim and Cortalim, which are semi-urban in nature and partly synonymous to Salcete.

Cortalim, represented by a woman BJP minister Alina Saldanha, has in fact 737 more men voters, but the polling is by 555 more women.

In Ponda taluka, industry minister Mahadev Naik’s Shiorda is the only segment which has recorded 628 more women polling when it has 370 more women voters.

Minister brothers Dipak Dhawalikar’s Priol (177) and Sudin Dhawalikar’s Marcaim (14) also have more women voters, but the actual polling figures show more men folk coming to the booths – 170 more men in Priol and 292 in Marcaim.

The electronic voting machines will tell us on 16 May why MGP bastions like Marcaim, Priol and even Ponda could not pull out more women than expected.

NORTH GOA

North Goa constituency figures sound more interesting than the South as only Bardez and Tiswadi show more female voting, compared to other three talukas of Pernem, Bicholim and Sattari as well as Priol Assembly segment.

All the 14 Assembly segments in Bardez and Tiswadi talukas have more women voters (1.50 lakh) than the men voters (1.45 lakh), only 5000 more.

But the real attention-grabbing fact is seen in St Andre constituency, represented by rebel BJP legislator Vishnu Wagh. While it has only around 1000 more women voters, almost around 1500 more women voters have come out to vote in this erstwhile Congress constituency, having great influence of minority vote bank.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s Panaji also has 538 more women voters, but only 583 more women voters have come out to vote in his home constituency.

Similar is the case of Monseratte bastions – Jennifer’s Taleigao has 491 more women but voting is by 533 more women. Babush’s St Cruz has 441 more women voters and 757 more women have voted.

Deputy chief minister Francis D’Souza’s Mapusa has 172 more women voters but only 87 more women have come out to vote.

Comparatively, minority-dominated Calangute, represented by BJP’s Michael Lobo, has only 325 more women voters, but polling is by 637 more women.

Similarly, Aldona of BJP’s Glenn Ticlo has 714 more women but 953 more women voted.

Tourism minister Dilip Parulekar’s Saligao has only 193 more women voters, but almost 350 more women have gone to the polling booth compared to the men voters.

Such enthusiasm however is not seen among the women in seven segments of Pernem, Bicholim and Sattari talukas.

In fact Priol, the sole segment of Ponda taluka added to North Goa, has 177 more women but 170 less women have voted in this segment.

It is thus a puzzle which women have come out to vote what for, either in the North or the South, but a fact that the over-enthusiasm shown by the women folk would decide the fate of the winner, in both the constituencies.

ASSEMBLY SEGMENT-WISE MORE FEMALE VOTERS & POLLING IN LS 2014

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