The 17th Lok Sabha had the highest number of women parliamentarians, with 78 members constituting over 14 percent of the total strength. In the recent elections, 74 women were elected to the Lok Sabha, a slight decrease from 78 in 2019. West Bengal leads with 11 female MPs among the total women elected to the Lower House.
A total of 797 women contested the elections, with the BJP fielding the most candidates at 69, followed by the Congress with 41. This election marks the first since the passage of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, which aims to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, although the law has yet to take effect. An analysis by think-tank PRS reveals that 16 percent of these women MPs are below the age of 40.
The analysis also noted that 41 percent of the women MPs (30 MPs) have previously served in the Lok Sabha, with one MP having been a member of the Rajya Sabha. “While there has been a gradual increase in the number of women in the Lok Sabha over the years, India still lags behind several countries. For instance, 46 percent of MPs in South Africa, 35 percent in the UK, and 29 percent in the US are women,” the analysis highlighted.
Election Commission data shows that 30 of the BJP’s women candidates won the polls, followed by 14 from the Congress, 11 from the TMC, four from the Samajwadi Party, three from the DMK, and two each from the JDU and LJP(R). With over 13.62 percent female MPs, the 18th Lok Sabha will have one of the highest numbers of women members since 1952.
In the 16th Lok Sabha, there were 64 women members, while the 15th Lok Sabha had 52 women. Prominent MPs like BJP’s Hema Malini, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, and SP’s Dimple Yadav retained their seats. Notable new victories included Kangana Ranaut and Misha Bharati. The Samajwadi Party’s 25-year-old Priya Saroj and 29-year-old Iqra Choudhary were among the youngest winners.
Parties like Naam Tamilar Katchi achieved equal gender representation, fielding 50 percent women candidates. Other parties with significant female representation included the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Nationalist Congress Party, each with 40 percent women candidates.
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