Only 10.2% women fielded in 20 Assembly polls since passage of women’s Bill in 2023: report

Published 18 June 2026 · local

Since the passage of the women’s reservation Bill in 2023, Assembly polls have been held in 20 States and Union Territories (UTs) and out of

Since the passage of the women’s reservation Bill in 2023, Assembly polls have been held in 20 States and Union Territories (UTs) and out of a total of 31,429 candidates who contested these elections, only 3,273 (10.2%) women were fielded by political parties. The proportion of women candidates did not exceed 14% across these States and U.T.s, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The women’s reservation Bill as passed mandates that 33% seats be reserved for women. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which were held months after the passage of the women’s reservation Bill in 2023, out of a total of 8,360 candidates analysed, only 800 (9.6%) were women and 152 (28%) out of 543 constituencies had zero women candidates, the report said.

State Assemblies which had the highest number of women candidates were Odisha (2024) at 13.9%, followed by Delhi (2025) 13.7% and closely followed by Puducherry (2026) 13.6%. Arunachal Pradesh (2024) and Jammu and Kashmir (2024) recorded the lowest participation of women candidates, with women constituting only 4.9% of the total contesting candidates. As far as the Lok Sabha polls were concerned, no political party met the one-third (33%) benchmark for women candidates in the 2024 general election. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian Congress (INC) fielded women candidates in the range of 13%-16%, several State parties recorded substantially higher levels of female representation.

These included Naam Tamilar Katchi (50%), Biju Janata Dal (33%), Rashtriya Janata Dal (29%), and All India Trinamool Congress (25%). In the 20 Assembly polls held since the passage of the Bill, among the national parties, the INC fielded 33% women candidates only in the Sikkim Assembly election. Among the State parties, Naam Tamilar Katchi contested the Puducherry and Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and fielded 50% women candidates in both elections. In addition, CPI(ML)(L) fielded 56% women candidates in the West Bengal Assembly election and 33% in the Assam Assembly election.

Samajwadi Party fielded 40% women candidates in Rajasthan Assembly election. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) fielded 50% women candidates in the Puducherry Assembly election, while the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party allotted 50% of its tickets to women candidates in the Delhi Assembly election.