Roughly half of all voters are now women. Yet, when it comes to candidates and MPs, women are only a very small part of the picture. In 1962 – the year from when continuous gender data is available for voters, candidates and MPs – 42% of the voters were women. By 2019, this had increased to 48.2% – almost equal to their share of population. But when it comes to candidates, only 9% were women.The count of MPs, though, was a little better at 14.4%.
Surprisingly, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has been very stingy in fielding women candidates – in 2019, only 6.3% of the party’s candidates were women.
Both Congress and BJP fielded roughly the same proportion of women candidates at 12.8% and 12.6%, respectively in 2019.
Karnataka, along with Kerala, stands out as the worst state for aspiring women politicians, with only about 5 out of every 100 women candidates winning their elections on average between 1996 and 2019.
In stark contrast, West Bengal emerged as the most hospitable state for women, with a winning rate of 20 out of 100 women candidates.
Gujarat emerged as the second-best state for women candidates, with 18 out of 100 winning, followed by Rajasthan (12%).
Surprisingly, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has been very stingy in fielding women candidates – in 2019, only 6.3% of the party’s candidates were women.
Both Congress and BJP fielded roughly the same proportion of women candidates at 12.8% and 12.6%, respectively in 2019.
Karnataka, along with Kerala, stands out as the worst state for aspiring women politicians, with only about 5 out of every 100 women candidates winning their elections on average between 1996 and 2019.
In stark contrast, West Bengal emerged as the most hospitable state for women, with a winning rate of 20 out of 100 women candidates.
Gujarat emerged as the second-best state for women candidates, with 18 out of 100 winning, followed by Rajasthan (12%).
