Ranchi:
Of the total 1,489 candidates who tried their luck in the Jharkhand assembly election, women constituted less than 10 per cent.
The total number of women candidates put up by all the parties and Independents totalled around 123.
The prominent women candidates whose fate would be decided on Wednesday are former ministers Joba Majhi of United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) contesting from Manoharpur,
Aparna Sengupta of All India Forward Bloc seeking re-election from Nirsa.
The prominent women candidate put by the BJP are Kunti Devi seeking re-election from Jharia, Annapurna Devi of RJD contesting from Koderma.
Sita Soren, wife of late Durga Soren, the elder son of JMM chief Shibu Soren is contesting from Jama.
Former chief minister Madhu Koda's wife Geeta Koda is contesting from her husband's Jagannathpur constituency on Jai Bharat Samata Party (JBSP) ticket. The JBSP has been floated by her husband, who was the MLA from Jagannathpur seat twice before he became the Lok Sabha member from Singhbhum this year.
Only five women were elected to the Jharkhand Assembly in the February 2005 election. They were Joba Majhi, Aparna Sengupta, Annapura Devi, Kunti Devi and Sushila Hansda.
This time Hansda's party the JMM has given the ticket to her husband Simon Marandi from Litipara.