When women swept the Ahmedabad civic polls

Ahmedabad: The year is 2021. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has gone to polls. As counting begins, the tide seems to be turning in an unexpected direction. As the final tally comes up, women contestants have a one up over men in the fray. That year was historic in a way. Out of the 48 wards, women candidates across party lines received the highest number of votes in 26 wards, leading to their victory. Which means that they won on all 96 seats reserved for women candidates. An AMC source said, "In 2015, for the first time, the state govt redrew AMC boundaries, dividing the city into 48 wards with panels of four seats each. This brought the total number of seats to 192. Of these, 50% or 96 were reserved for women, the other two were open for either. The reservation rule came into effect from the 2015 elections."The 2020 polls were pushed to 2021. Sources added, "That year, the BJP won 160 of the 192 seats, with women outperforming men. Congress won 24, its women candidates winning more votes than male candidates in Kubernagar, Danilimda and Behrampura wards. Additionally, AIMIM won seven seats, with their panel of four candidates winning in Jamalpur. Its female candidate Afsanabanu Chishti won the most votes."