BNN Summary
Arecent analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) reveals that major Indian political parties, including the BJP and Congress, have largely failed to meet the 33% women's reservation benchmark in elections held since the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in September 2023. Out of nearly 40,000 candidates analyzed across the 2024 Lok Sabha and 20 state assembly elections, only about 10.2% were women, highlighting a significant gap between legislative intent and actual candidate selection.
In-Depth Analysis
Despite the landmark passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, officially known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, major political parties in India have fallen significantly short of the intended 33% reservation for women in candidate selection. A comprehensive analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) underscores this persistent underrepresentation, revealing that only approximately one in ten candidates fielded in recent elections were women.
The Women's Reservation Bill, a pivotal piece of legislation, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 19, 2023, and subsequently passed by both houses of Parliament with near-unanimous support on September 20 and 21, 2023, respectively. President Droupadi Murmu assented to the Bill on September 28, 2023. The Act aims to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly, a provision that also includes a sub-quota for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women.
However, the implementation of this 33% reservation is contingent upon two crucial future events: the publication of the next census and a subsequent delimitation exercise. While the Union Ministry of Law and Justice issued a gazette notification bringing the Act into force on April 16, 2026, the actual enforcement of the quota is not expected before the 2029 general elections, a timeline that has drawn criticism and political debate.
The ADR and NEW report, titled 'Women Candidates in Elections: An Analysis of Party Ticket Distribution Following the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023,' meticulously examined the candidacies in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections and 20 state/Union Territory assembly elections held after the Bill's passage. Across these 21 elections, the analysis covered 39,789 candidates, of whom a mere 4,073 (10.2%) were women. Another broader analysis covering 51,708 candidates found that only 5,095 (10%) were women.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Findings: In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, out of a total of 8,360 candidates, only 800 (9.6%) were women. A stark revelation was that 152 out of 543 constituencies (28%) had no women candidates at all. Significantly, none of the national parties managed to meet the one-third (33%) benchmark for women candidates in the general elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite its prominent role in passing the Bill, fielded approximately 13%-16% women candidates. Similarly, the Indian National Congress (INC) also fielded women candidates in the range of 13%-16%. While national parties showed modest female representation, some state parties demonstrated better commitment. For instance, Naam Tamilar Katchi fielded 50% women candidates, and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) met the 33% quota in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Other state parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) fielded 29% and 25% women candidates, respectively.
State and UT Assembly Elections Insights: Post the Bill's passage, 20 state and Union Territory assembly elections saw 31,429 candidates, with women constituting only 3,273 (10.2%) of them. The analysis highlighted that in none of these state or UT assembly elections did the proportion of women candidates exceed 14%.
Odisha's 2024 Assembly elections recorded the highest proportion of women candidates at 13.9%, followed by Delhi (2025) at 13.7%, and Puducherry (2026) at 13.6%. Conversely, states like Arunachal Pradesh (2024) and Jammu & Kashmir (2024) registered the lowest participation of women candidates, with only 4.9% each.
The Indian National Congress managed to meet the 33% women candidate benchmark in only one of the analyzed assembly elections, specifically the Sikkim Assembly Election. Several state parties outperformed the national average in these assembly polls. Naam Tamilar Katchi notably fielded 50% women candidates in both the Puducherry and Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections. The CPI(ML)(L) fielded 56% women candidates in the West Bengal Assembly Election and 33% in the Assam Assembly Election, while the Samajwadi Party fielded 40% women candidates in the Rajasthan Assembly Election.
These findings from the ADR and NEW report underscore a significant discrepancy between the progressive intent of the Women's Reservation Bill and the current practices of political parties in distributing election tickets. Despite legislative efforts to enhance women's representation, the actual numbers reflect a continued struggle for equitable participation in India's electoral landscape, necessitating greater political will to translate legal frameworks into tangible change.
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