Women's Political Participation and Representation in India
Summary and Highlights
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) & National Election Watch (NEW) have analysed 51,708 candidates who contested in the current Lok Sabha and State/UT assembly elections across the country. Among them, only 5,095 (10%) were women candidates. This analysis includes the 543 MPs and 4,123 MLAs of India. Among 4,666 MPs/MLAs across the country, only 464 or 10% are women. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 19, 2023. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. This report takes a look at participation of women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.
This analysis is based on the data from the main elections held for the current Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies. It does not include the analysis of data from by-elections conducted thereafter.
Analysis of Women Candidates and Women MPs/MLAs
- Out of total 51,708 candidates analysed who contested in the current Lok Sabha and Assembly elections across the country, only 5095, (10%) are women.
- Among 4,666 MPs/MLAs across the country, only 464 or 10% are women.
Women Candidates Contested in Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections
Women Candidates in Lok Sabha Elections 2024:
- Out of 8360 candidates analysed in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Only 800 (9.6%) candidates were women.
- Out of 543 constituencies, 152 (28%) constituencies had zero women candidates.
- Among the Lok Sabha constituencies, Baramati (Maharashtra), Secunderabad and Warangal (Telangana) had the highest number of women candidates (8 each), followed by Karur (Tamil Nadu), and Kolkata Dakshin (West Bengal) with 7 candidates each.
- Among the national parties, BJP had the highest share of women candidates 16%, followed by INC and CPI(M) 13% each, and BSP with 8%. AAP did not field any women candidates among its 22 candidates while the NPP fielded 2 women candidates out of a total of 3 candidates.
Women Candidates in Current Assemblies:
- Out of 43348 candidates analysed from current State and UT Assemblies, only 4295 (10%) candidates were women.
- Out of 4123 constituencies across the country in the current assemblies, 1698 (41%) constituencies had zero women candidates.
- Among the State and UT Assemblies, none of the states had more than 15 % women candidates in the elections. States such as Delhi, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura had highest percentage of women candidates contested in their respective assembly elections.
- Among the State and UT Assembly constituencies, Guntur West (Andhra Pradesh) had the highest number of women candidates (12), followed by Limbayat (Gujarat) and Nampally (Telangana) with 8 women candidates each.
- Among the State and UT Assemblies, Odisha (14%), Delhi (14%) and Chhattisgarh (13%) have the highest share of women candidates. The lowest shares are in Nagaland (2%), Arunachal Pradesh (5%) and Jammu & Kashmir (5%).
Women Candidates in the Current Lok Sabha and State/UT Assemblies – Party Wise
Unrecognised parties nominated 1502 women, out of 13,413 candidates, followed by National Parties 1337 out of 12119 candidates, state parties 592 out of 5,926 candidates. Among Independents, 1664 out of 20,250 candidates were women.
Performance of Women Candidates
Women MPs in 18th Lok Sabha:
- Among the 543 MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha, 74 (14%) are women MPs.
- 22 states and UTs have women MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha. The only large state without a woman MP is Kerala.
- West Bengal have highest number of women MPs 11, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra 7, and Madhya Pradesh 6.
- BJP has the highest number of women MPs 31, followed by INC 13, and AITC 11.
- Only national parties and state parties managed to get their women candidates elected. No woman candidate from any unrecognised political party or Independent woman candidate won the election.
- Higher share of women candidates won the election than male candidates: 74 (9%) out of 800 women candidates won the elections. Among 7,554 male candidates, 469 (6%) were elected. Additionally, 6 third gender candidates contested the elections, but none of them were elected.
- Among the women MPs, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya (Nimuben Bambhaniya) (BJP) from Bhavnagar Constituency (Gujarat) has won with the highest vote share, i.e. 69.70% in her constituency and Shobha Karandlaje (BJP) from Bangalore North Constituency (Karnataka) has won with the highest number of votes, i.e. 9,86,049.
Women MLAs in Current Assemblies:
- Among 4,123 MLAs across the country, 390 (9%) are women.
- Among the State and UT Assemblies, Uttar Pradesh has highest number of women MLAs 47, followed by West Bengal 40, Bihar 29 and Madhya Pradesh 27.
- BJP has the highest number of women MLAs 163, followed by INC 59, and AITC 34.
- Higher share of male candidates won the election than women candidates in the State and UT Assemblies: 3733 (10%) out of 39033 male candidates won the elections. Among 4295 women candidates, 390 (9%) were elected. Additionally, 20 third gender candidates contested the elections, but none of them were elected.
- Among the women MLAs, S. S. Olish (BJP) from Chandel Constituency (Manipur) has won with the highest vote share, i.e. 79.06% in her constituency and Manjula S (BJP) from Mahadevapura (SC) Constituency (Karnataka) has won with the highest number of votes, i.e. 1,81,731.
Criminal and Financial Background of Sitting Women MPs/MLAs
Summary
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) have analyzed the self -sworn affidavits of 476 out 477 sitting Women MPs & MLAs from across the nation. This report analyses all 75 affidavits of sitting Women MPs from Lok Sabha and 401 out of 402 sitting Women MLAs from all the 28 states and 3 union territories of India. It also includes analysis of the affidavits submitted for bye elections held during the 5 years’ period due to resignation, death or vacation of seat due to some other reason. One MLA namely Palle Sindhura Reddy (TDP) contesting from Puttaparthi Constituency (Andhra Pradesh) has not been analysed due to the unavailability of her clear and complete affidavit on the ECI website at the time of making this report.
This data has been extracted from the affidavits (Form 26) submitted with the ECI and filed by the candidates i.e women MPs and MLAs in the present report at the time elections held in the years 2021 to 2026. The current status of the criminal cases taken from these affidavits and given the present report is not known and may vary from case-to-case basis. The completeness, timeliness and instant status of all data and information used in the report are dependent upon diverse resources of such data and information, which are outside ADR's control.
Criminal Background
Sitting Women MPs/MLAs with Criminal Cases: Out of the 476 Women MPs/MLAs analysed, 127(27%) have declared criminal cases against themselves. 24 (32%) out of 75 Lok Sabha Women MPs, and 103 (26%) out of 401 Women MLAs (all state assemblies / UTs) analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Sitting Women MPs/MLAs with Serious Criminal Cases: Out of the 476 Women MPs/MLAs analysed, 68 (14%) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. 14 (19%) out of 75 Lok Sabha Women MPs and 54 (13%) out of 401 Women MLAs (all state assemblies / UTs) analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Financial Background
Billionaire Sitting Women MPs/MLAs: Out of the 476 women MPs/MLAs analysed, 14 (3%) are Billionaires. This includes 6 (8%) out of 75 Lok Sabha MPs and 8 (2%) out of 401 MLAs from all state assemblies / UTs.
Average Assets of Sitting Women MPs/MLAs: The average of assets per woman MP/MLA is Rs 17.30 Crores.
Total Assets of Sitting Women MPs/MLAs: The total assets of 476 women MPs/MLAs are Rs. 8,234 Crores.
Analysis Based on Education of Women MPs/MLAs
121 (25%) Women MPs/MLAs have declared their educational qualifications to be between 5th and 12th standard while 333 (70%) Women MPs/MLAs have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above. 12 Women MPs/MLAs are Diploma holders. 10 Women MPs/MLAs have declared themselves to be just literate.
Analysis Based on Age Groups
Age details of Women MPs/MLAs:115(24%) Women MPs/MLAs have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 302 (63%) Women MPs/MLAs have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 59 (12%) Women MPs/MLAs who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years.