Following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 74 women have been elected as Members of Parliament (MP). This means that only 13.6 per cent of the 543 members of the Lower House of the Parliament are women. That despite the fact that they form roughly 50 per cent of India’s population.
The number is slightly lower than the record-high seen in 2019, when 78 women (14.3 per cent of the total 543 MPs) were elected to the Lok Sabha.
We tell you what the numbers say about women’s participation and election in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls 2024.
A comparison with 2019
According to data provided by the Election Commission, in 2019, 726 women had contested in the elections. Of them, 78 women - 10.74 per cent of total women candidates - were elected.
In 2024, a total of 797 women contested the elections, with 74 of them getting elected. That means that 9.7 per cent of the women who were in the electoral race won. Only 13.6 per cent of the 543 members of the Lower House of the Parliament are women.
States/UTs with best women representation
Tripura is tied with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu for the top spot when it comes to women’s representation. The Northeastern state and the union territory have two Lok Sabha constituencies each. They have each elected one woman. This means that 50 per cent of the population in each of these places are represented by women.
Here’s how that calculation works, illustrated with the example of Tripura:
The state of Tripura has 2 constituencies. All eligible voters are registered to cast their ballot for one of the two seats. Theoretically, that means that 100 per cent of the population is represented (in the Lok Sabha) by the two people who are elected. So each candidate represents roughly 50 per cent of the state’s population.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi takes the third rank when it comes to women’s representation in Lok Sabha in percentage. Delhi has 7 seats. Two of those– New Delhi and West Delhi– have been won by women.
This means that 28.57 per cent of the population in Delhi is represented by women in the Lok Sabha.
States sending most female representatives to Lok Sabha
West Bengal takes the crown when it comes to this. The state, which has 42 seats, has elected 11 women. All of them are from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are tied for second place. Both states have elected seven women to the Lok Sabha. However, given that Maharashtra has 48 seats, while UP has 80, it is clear that the former’s proportion of women elected is better.
States with worst women representation in Lok Sabha
According to Firstpost’s analysis of Election Commission data, there are 13 states/Union territories with no women representatives elected to the Lok Sabha.
Five of these states – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim – are in the Northeast.
Five Union territories – Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry – each having only one seat, saw men representing their entire populations in the Lok Sabha.
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which sent five representatives to the Lok Sabha, and where six women, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti were in the fray, also saw no women getting elected.
In Goa, which has two Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP’s Pallavi Shrinivas Dempo was the runner up for the South Goa seat. She lost to Congress’ Captain Viriato Fernandes by a margin of 13,535 votes.
Kerala is an especially disappointing presence on this list. There are 20 constituencies in the state- much more than any other state or union territory that did not elect any women representatives. No women representatives were chosen despite 71.72 per cent of women voters turning out to cast their ballots.
Party-wise distinction
As many as 31 of the elected women belong to the BJP, which contested the most seats of any party in the country. Congress, with 14 women members elected to the Lok Sabha, takes the second spot. TMC is in the third place.
Five of the elected women belong to Samajwadi Party. This includes top party leader Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, Dimple Yadav, too.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, has three women elected to the Lok Sabha. Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) have two women members who have been elected to the Lok Sabha.
One woman member each from Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Apna Dal, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have been elected to the Lok Sabha.
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