A free bus ride: How parties from Karnataka to Rajasthan are wooing women voters

The Congress in Karnataka announced that women will be able to travel free in public transport if it is voted back to power in the state.

The party made the announcement during Rahul Gandhi's election campaign in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. The Congress had so far made four promise which included free power. Gandhi said that he would had a fifth and said that all women would be allowed to travel free in public transport if the party is elected to power.

The scheme announced by the Congress is very much similar to the one launched by the DMK in Karnataka. Following his swearing-in as chief minister in 2021, M K Stalin had said that all working women in the state could travel free of cost in government-owned city and town buses with immediate effect. The government explained that the main intention behind the scheme was to increase the work participation rate of women and also to promote public transportation.

The BJP too had announced a scheme similar to this. Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai had announced that free bus pass facility for 30 lakh working women across the state would be given. The government has announced a free bus pass facility to all women working in the organised sector he had said.

Free bus rides for women has been announced in other states as well. On Raksha Bandhan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath had announced that ladies in the state would for the next 48 hours receive free bus tickets.

Following this the Rajasthan government also announced that the transport department will not charge bus fares to female passengers. Within the state female passengers will be given free transport options, except on AC and Volvo buses, the government had saiid.

The Haryana and Uttarakhand governments too had offered free bus rides to passengers on Raksha Bandhan.

Wooing the women voters is very important for all parties. Experts OneIndia spoke with say that the woman voter has over the years been the more dedicated one. Women vote in larger numbers and hence it becomes important for political parties to reach out to them.

Take the Karnataka case for instance. The first half of the campaign was all about doling out cookers and dinner sets. This was a clear indication that the woman voter is important and hence reaching out to them could possibly change the outcome of the verdict.