‘Ability to win is a factor’: Shashi Tharoor worries over low number of women in Kerala war

New Delhi: Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor On Friday, when asked about colleague Shama Mohammad’s complaint about the meager number of votes allotted to women candidates in the Kerala assembly elections, she came out strongly in favor of increasing women’s representation in elections.Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP acknowledged the under-representation of women in the population and stressed the need for reservation.He was also asked about Congress leader Shama Mohamed’s post on X on Friday about the smaller number of tickets being given to women candidates.“I have been very supportive of increasing women’s representation for some time now,” Tharoor told the Press Trust of India news agency.The Congress leader, however, listed possibilities for deciding ticket allocation before the vote, one of which he said was the “winning” factor.“I regret to say that I do agree that it is unfair for women to get only 9.8 per cent seats when they constitute half of the population. But those who take these decisions, I am not one of them, I am not part of the candidate selection process, but I can only say that those who take these decisions must take all factors into consideration. They claim that ultimately they are guided by their ability to win and that is what matters most,” Tharoor said.He further said that once reservation for women comes into effect, it will provide “fair opportunities to more hard-working women leaders”.“But when women’s reservation comes, I think these debates will end and we will see more hard-working women leaders getting a fair chance,” he added.Congress leader Sharma Mohammad on Friday expressed concern over the low representation of women in the party’s candidate list, urging Rahul Gandhi to intervene.In a post on X, Mohammed said that of the 92 tickets, only nine were allocated to women. She also mentioned the Lok Sabha elections, in which only one woman among the 16 candidates in Kerala was elected. “Rejected but not defeated,” she wrote, calling on Rahul Gandhi to support women leaders of state units.Her remarks came a day after Congress finalized its nominees. Opposition leader VD Satheesan said the party has locked in all the 95 nominees in the fray. “We had announced 55 candidates earlier and have now finalized the remaining 40 candidates. The selection process has been completed and we will now enter campaign mode,” he said.Kerala will go to single-phase polls on April 9 and counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.