There are only a handful of women whom political parties have fielded as candidates in general wards – wards open for contest for persons from all genders in Coimbatore.
Of the 100 wards in the city, the State Election Commission had earmarked 50 for women, including five wards for women from the Scheduled Caste communities.
The wards that the Commission had earmarked for women are 1, 2, 9, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49 50, 51, 54, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79, 82, 83 and 84 and the wards earmarked for SC women are 3, 13, 61, 66 and 85.
In the remaining 50 wards the contesting political parties have fielded fewer women and those they had chosen to contest were either former councillors or spouses of former councillors, the data available with the Corporation shows.
The DMK and its allies in the Secular Progressive Alliance have fielded Malathi Nagaraj in ward 34, Meena Logu (ward 46) – a former councillor, Lakshmi Ilanselvi (ward 52) – another former councillor, R. Dhanalakshmi and Nivetha Senathipathi, daughter of a district secretary.
The AIADMK had fielded Kirubalini (ward 7), Revathi (ward 16), and Manimeghalai (ward 71) – a former councillor.
The BJP has fielded five women in general wards, the Naam Tamilar Katchi only a woman candidate and the Makkal Needhi Maiam seven.
Sources said a good number of women the parties had fielded in wards reserved for women were spouses of former councillors or former councillors, suggesting that men continued to influence the choice of candidates that parties made.
