Nepal, Oct. 16 -- Yet another election in India, and women have become the buzzword again. Both the ruling Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led regime and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar have declared their commitment to the cause of women voters by promising cash transfer schemes ahead of the elections due early next month.

Wooing women voters has become the go-to mantra for the political class ahead of elections ever since they became a national conversation with the rise of Narendra Modi as a pan-India leader in 2014. Political parties realised the untapped potential of this electorate and have since relentlessly pursued it with unbridled enthusiasm, at times using innovative and meaningful techniques and at others, resorting ...