Over one-third wards dominated by females in KMC

Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS) Over one-third wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have more female voters than male voters, according to the final list of voters released by the West Bengal Election Commission.

Interestingly enough, the female dominated wards are mostly in south Kolkata and the south-eastern fringes of the city.

According to the final list released by the state election commission, there are a total of 40,48,152 voters of which 21,17, 838 are male and 19,30, 441 are female. There are altogether 73 voters in 'Others' category. The female voters count 47.6 per cent of the total voters in the KMC wards.

According to the electoral list, female voters dominate male voters in 54 of the 144 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. In other wards, 37.5 per cent of the KMC wards are female dominated.

Another interesting aspect of KMC electorate is that all these female dominated wards are either in south Kolkata or in south-east fringes of the city that were added to KMC at a later date.

Of the 54 wards 46 wards -- from Ward number 86 to Ward number 133 -- are in South Kolkata or in the South-Eastern fringes of the city. Apart from this there are eight wards including Ward no - 1, 33, 34, 35, 83 142, 143 and 144 where female voters outnumber the male voters.

"The trend is little weird. When the state has a substantial contribution of women voters, the demographic structure of the city doesn't match with the overall picture of the state. It is very difficult to say whether the female voters are reluctant to register themselves as voters or there is a genuine dearth of women voters in the city," a senior sephologist said.

"One thing should be taken into consideration. There are many people who come from outside and settle in Kolkata but they don't bring their family to the city. This section contributes strongly to the electorate list. This might one reason behind the poor female electorate in the city," he added.