Steady decline in number of women MLAs from Vidarbha
* The number has come down from six in 1957 to only one in 2014 By Kartik Lokhande Maharashtra is considered to be a pioneer in women empowerment. It also is considered a pioneer in providing opportunities to women to contest elections through quota. However, when it comes to electing women candidates, the official records show that number of women MLAs has come down steadily. As per the official data, the number of women MLAs in Legislative Assembly was 24 in the term 1957-62. Prior to 1960, when Maharashtra state came into being, the Legislative Assembly comprised elected representatives from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. It had a total of 316 members of which 24 were women. Then, six of these 24 women MLAs were from Vidarbha region. These included Kokilabai Gawande (Melghat), Sushilabai Ingle (Amgaon), Malati Joshi (Amravati), Indirabai Kotambkar (Buldana), Kusumtai Korpe (Murtijapur), and Hirabai Salve (Morshi). After Maharashtra state came into be...