General Election 2019: Women Vs Men; Patriarchy Vs New Order

There is an assumption that the upcoming general election will be a fight between women and men or patriarchy and new order. Let’s introspect! Those preaching these assumptions may have two plans. The first one is to highlight the need of projecting a woman leader as the prime ministerial candidate of the proposed united opposition front. They might be the supporters of either TMC leader Mamata Banerjee or BSP leader Mayawati. The second one is the most serious one –the one which worries the rightists the most. That strategy is to project the upcoming election as the fight between those supporting the age-old patriarchal system and those preaching for a new order which offers equal status to women as that of men.

While analysing several policies adopted by the rightwing especially the RSS in the recent past, it is found that the rightists fear the developments that try to project the upcoming general election as the fight between patriarchy and new order. That fear has even reflected in the rightist’s policy on the South India’s most famous hill temple Sabarimala, for which the devotees have organised several marches across the state when the top court verdict has ruled to scrap one of the customs traditionally practiced in the temple.

Will the general election 2018 be women Vs men or patriarchy Vs new order political game? If yes, what actually is that new order?

Vignesh. S. G

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