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The analysis of the data from the ECI shows that for the 542 seats, 800 women were in the fight and only 74 made it to the House while 629 forfeited deposits.
TMC women MPs take selfies at the Parliament House complex during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Image: PTI)
No matter how loud the political parties in India shout about empowerment and giving representation to women but when it comes to walking the talk, they fail. The analysis of official numbers show that there was no woman candidate in the fight in one in every four Lok Sabha seats on average and in four states/union territories. Also, there were no woman MPs elected from 14 states/UTs.
This year, India saw the world’s largest election – Lok Sabha 2024 – where 8,360 candidates tried their luck for 542 seats across India. This week, the poll body released a comprehensive set of 42 statistical reports for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Surat in Gujarat saw the election of the MP without any contest.
The analysis of the data from the ECI shows that for the 542 seats, 800 women were in the fight and only 74 made it to the House while 629 forfeited deposits.
The analysis also shows that in at least 14 states and union territories, there were no women MPs. At least four states and UTs saw no woman in the fray – Manipur; Nagaland; Lakshadweep and Ladakh.
Further analysis of the data also showed that there was no woman candidate in the fight in one in every four Lok Sabha seats – 152 seats out of 542.
The number of women who contested in 2024 was higher than 2019 but the number of those who got elected was lower than 2019. In both the years, the woman MP elected to Lok Sabha was not even close to the 33 per cent share for women which all the parties decided in Lok Sabha under a yet to be implemented bill.
For 33 per cent representation of women, it has to be around 180 women in the Lok Sabha out of 543 members.
In 2019, there were 726 women in the fight and 78 made it to the House. This time, out of the 800 in fray, 74 were elected.
The states with the highest number of women contesting candidates were Maharashtra (111); Uttar Pradesh (80) and Tamil Nadu (77). Tripura and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu with two Lok Sabha seats each had the highest representation of women at 50 per cent – one each.
In terms of the highest number of women elected from a state, West Bengal stood at the top. For the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, there were 72 women in the fray and 11 (26 per cent) were elected. A total of 53 women lost their deposits.
There were 158 women in the fray from the five national parties. The BJP, which turned out to be the single largest party in the 18th Lok Sabha, fought with 440 candidates and only 70 were women. The BSP fought with the highest number of candidates at 488 and only 38 were women. Congress was third in terms of candidates at 328, only 41 were women.
From the national parties, 44 women were elected to the Lok Sabha and 31 were from the BJP. The remaining 13 were from the Congress party.
Out of the 800 women in the fray, 279 were independents and all except one lost deposit. Hena Shahab, the wife of late gangster-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, was the only woman independent candidate who was declared lost in the Lok Sabha polls. She contested from Bihar’s Siwan and secured 30 per cent votes.
From the state parties, 75 women were given a chance in the Lok Sabha and 30 were elected to the house while 12 lost their deposits. At 11, West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress has the highest elected women MPs among the state parties. The party gave chance to 12 women in Lok Sabha and 11 made it to the House. Sujata Mondal, who contested from Bishnupur, was the only woman TMC candidate who failed.
At 14, Samajwadi Party had the tag of fielding the highest number of women in the Lok Sabha battle but only five from the Akhilesh Yadav’s party made it to the House.
In 2023, parliament passed a law to reserve 33 per cent seats for women legislators in the assemblies and the Lok Sabha. But for implementation, delimitation needs to be done and for that census was needed. It may take a couple of years before these details are finalised. But while political parties spoke at length about how women representation will transform the country, it seems none of these parties have the willingness to offer more seats to women until the enforcement of the law.
