Lucknow, Sep 9 (IANS)  If there is one issue that blared out from loudspeakers during the 2022 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and has now gone completely silent, it is the one related to reservation for women.

When Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched her ‘Ladki hoon , Lad sakti hoon’ campaign and announced 40 per cent tickets for women, she did manage to unnerve the other political parties.

Parties like the Samajwadi Party, maintained a studied silence but keenly watched the situation to see if quota for women does yield the desired results.

The issue flopped badly and the Congress put up its worst ever performance with only one woman as winner – Aradhana Mishra Mona, who is a veteran politician.

The majority of the women candidates forfeited their deposits and the Congress has been silent on the issue ever since. Other parties have heaved a sigh of relief.

Interestingly, today, Priyanka Gandhi makes no mention of reservation for women and party strategists also show no keenness to bring up the issue again.

Even the poster girl of the Congress campaign, Priyanka Maurya, has gone and joined the BJP, leaving the Congress red-faced.

Senior political analyst Y K Mishra explains, “The Congress fired in the air and plunged into deep waters without any preparation. Priyanka Gandhi did not prepare women to contest elections and her choice of candidates was rather childish. She had one who had faced domestic trouble, another who had been roughed up by cops and yet another whose family member was a politician’s victim. These women had their brief moments of glory in the media and were completely unfamiliar with political issues.”

He added that though it was the Congress that had originally pushed the women’s reservation bill, it was Priyanka’s childish approach that destroyed the issue forever.

“None of the Congress candidates have pursued politics with the seriousness it requires after the polls. One has gone to the Bigg Boss show while another has returned to domestic battles,” he stated.

The Congress fiasco on the issue, however, has come as a major relief for parties like the SP.

It may be recalled that SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav had stirred up a controversy when he said that rural women will not benefit from the Women Reservation Bill because they are not as attractive in comparison to those from the affluent class.

In March 2010, when the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha for approval, Mulayam had made a similar remark: "The Women Reservation Bill, if passed in its present format, would provoke young men to whistle in Parliament."

Another socialist leader Sharad Yadav also echoed similar sentiments when he said that only ‘parkati’ women (women sporting short hair, belonging to affluent families) would benefit.

The two leaders drove a class wedge among women to oppose the bill.

Akhilesh Yadav — although he belongs to the new generation — has also been suspiciously silent on the issue of women’s reservation. His wife Dimple Yadav is a MP from Mainpuri but the Samajwadi Party, as such, does not believe in pushing women to the forefront of party politics. The number of active women in the party can be counted on the fingertips.

The party’s stand remains the same as that of Mulayam Singh though no one speaks about it. The SP is pushing for an OBC caste census but does not talk about a quota for women.