Even the Bills to fast-track women’s reservation was defeated in the Lok Sabha, an analysis of elections held since the quota law was passed in 2023 shows that only a few parties have meaningfully increased the number of women candidates.
In states heading to the polls, most parties have made only marginal progress in fielding women in Assembly elections.
Poll-bound states
In Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, most parties have made only slight increases in the number of women candidates, while in five instances, parties have actually reduced the number of women nominees, according to the report by The Indian Express.
In West Bengal
In West Bengal, the Congress has increased the number of women candidates to 35 from just seven in 2021. The party is contesting all 294 seats this time, compared to only 92 seats in 2021 when it was in alliance with the CPI(M) and the Indian Secular Front. As a result, the share of women candidates has risen from 7.6% to 11.9%.
The Trinamool Congress has largely maintained its numbers, increasing slightly from 48 women candidates out of 290 in 2021 (16.55%) to 52 out of 291 this year (17.86%). In contrast, the BJP has reduced its count, fielding 33 women candidates compared to 38 in the previous election.
In Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, both the ruling DMK and the Opposition AIADMK have fielded 19 women candidates each, contesting 176 and 172 seats respectively. While the AIADMK has largely maintained its 2021 level, when it fielded 17 women, the DMK has increased its number by six compared to the previous election. In terms of overall share, women candidates constitute 11% for both parties.
In Kerala
In Kerala, both the BJP and the Congress have fielded fewer women candidates than they did five years ago, while the Left parties, CPI(M) and CPI have made slight increases compared to 2021. However, as the BJP is contesting fewer seats this time, the proportion of women candidates has inched up from 13.9% to 14.3%, whereas the Congress has seen a drop from 10.8% to 9.9%. The CPI(M), which is contesting the majority of the Left’s seats, has also recorded a modest rise in the share of women candidates, from 14.7% to 15.6%.
In Assam
In Assam, the Congress gave the ticket to 13 women, which is a increase from 9 in 2021. Meanwhile, the BJP fielded 6 women, which is down from 7 in 2021. In share, the women made up 13.3% of the Congress’s candidates whereas BJP comprises 6.7% of women nominees.
Analysis of Assembly elections
According to an analysis of Assembly elections conducted before and after the passage of the women’s quota Bill in September 2023, recently notified indicates that the legislation has had a limited effect in encouraging political parties to field more women candidates.
According to Indian Express report, there had been only six instances of parties fielding over 20% of women candidates
After the Bill was passed, there have been only six instances where parties fielded more than 20% women candidates, with the highest share recorded by the Congress in the 2024 Sikkim Assembly elections, where 4 of its 12 candidates (33.3%) were women.
In the same year in Jharkhand, the All Jharkhand Students Union Party (AJSU) fielded 3 women among its 10 candidates, accounting for 30%.
Other parties crossing the 20% mark include Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (23.8%) in 2024, the Congress in Jharkhand (23.3%) in 2024, Kerala’s CPI (20.8%) in the ongoing elections, and the Congress in Chhattisgarh’s 2023 polls (20%).
A very comparison of Assembly elections were held before and after the passage of women’s quota law in 2023, shows that there have been only 38 instances of parties raising the share of women candidates. Meanwhile, There were 24 instances , which saw decline in the share of women candidates.
