The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found that less than 10 per cent of the candidates in the Lok Sabha elections are women. Out of the 8,337 candidates analyzed, only 797 are women, representing only 9.5 per cent of the total candidates across the seven phases of the elections. This gender imbalance has sparked criticism from political analysts and activists, who call for structural reforms and proactive steps to ensure equal opportunities for women in politics.
The election process saw a small percentage of women candidates in the first phase, with only 135 out of 1,618 candidates being women. A similar pattern continued in subsequent phases, with a small number of women in each phase. In phase 2, around 100 women candidates had affidavits out of 1,198 candidates. Phase 3 had 1,352 candidates where 123 individuals were women and 244 with criminal cases. Phase 4 has 1,710 candidates where 170 were women. Phase 5 had 695 candidates, and 82 women. Phase 6 saw 866 candidates where 92 were women whereas Phase 7 will have 904 candidates with 95 women.
The women's reservation bill, which has been pending for 27 years, has been granted with reservation of one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. However, political analysts and activists criticize political parties for waiting for the women's reservation bill instead of proactively issuing women's tickets. Dr. Sushila Ramaswamy suggests parties should promote women's candidacy and field more women candidates.
