After the Congress in Kerala crossed one hurdle after announcing their candidate list, it seems that the list created more difficulties for the party. In what could be the biggest protest against the list, amongst many other local oppositions, is Mahila Congress president Lathika Subhash’s resignation and protest in front of Indira Bhavan.
After she was denied a ticket in the election, she resigned her position and tonsured her head in protest against the party as well as against the anti-women policies of the Pinarayi-Modi governments. Lathika said that she will not be joining any other party and will not cooperate with anyone else. She added that women are also individuals, should be treated like young men and she declared that she would continue to be a corrective force.
Following the KPCC Mullappally Ramachandran’s press conference, she tonsured her head in protest in front of the Indira Bhavan. She said that she expected at least one seat from each district for a woman candidate, but the party failed to deliver. With nine female candidates, the party is facing flak from activists across the state. The CPM and CPI had only experiences similar complaints since only 12 out of 83 CPM candidates were female. The CPI leadership had even admitted to the failure to include more women.
Lathika added that the Mahila Congress president would never fight against the party, and Kollam candidate Bindu Krishna had to shed tears in front of the media to get a seat. Lathika had been working hard for the party for almost four decades, and to see such neglect towards female candidates is heartbreaking. The ideal number would have been 20 per cent of the total seats for women, despite there being a 33% reservation, she noted. The current number is barely 10 per cent as of now.
Lathika was hoping for the Vaikom seat, which is her base, but would have settled for Ettumanoor. However, her hopes were lost after the announcement, leading to an emotional protest. Her protest was a huge blow to the Congress, which was in high spirits after the announcement of its candidate. The news agency ANI was among those who came to report Lathika’s tonsuring.