The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Lower House of Parliament has not seen a significant increase in women’s representation following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This year, 797 women candidates contested the polls, but only 74 secured seats, down from 78 in 2019.
Despite this slight decline, women’s participation in elections has increased over the years. From 2 women MPs in 1998, to 12 in 2014, and 11 in 2024, their journey reflects the broader societal changes in India. However, the number remains well below the one-third representation called for by the Women’s Reservation Bill.
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress led the way in women’s representation, with 11 out of its 29 newly elected MPs being women. In comparison, national parties like the BJP and Congress fielded fewer female candidates. The BJP fielded 69 women candidates, and the Congress 41.
Other parties with notable female representation include the Naam Tamilar Katchi, which achieved equal gender representation, and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), each with 40 percent women candidates.
This election follows the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill of 2023, which mandates reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, the law is yet to come into effect.
An analysis by think-tank PRS highlights that India still lags behind several countries in women’s representation. For instance, 46 percent of MPs in South Africa, 35 percent in the UK, and 29 percent in the US are women.
Election Commission data shows that 30 BJP women candidates won seats, followed by 14 from Congress, 11 from the TMC, 4 from the Samajwadi Party, 3 from the DMK, and 2 each from the JD(U) and LJP(R). With over 13.62 percent female MPs, the 18th Lok Sabha will have one of the highest numbers of women members since 1952.
Prominent women MPs this year include BJP’s Hema Malini, Trinamool’s Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, and SP’s Dimple Yadav. New candidates like Kangana Ranaut and Misa Bharti also secured seats. Notably, the Samajwadi Party’s Iqra Hasan won the Kairana Lok Sabha seat with a significant margin, and its candidates Priya Saroj and Iqra Choudhary were among the youngest winners.
A total of 8,360 candidates contested in the parliamentary polls, reflecting the increasing engagement of women in Indian politics.