- Women won 78 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha
- Odisha has the maximum percentage of female MPs
- There are no female MPs from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections gave women in India a reason for hope. With women taking up 78 out of 545 Lok Sabha seats, this is the highest percentage of representation women have seen in the lower house of the Indian parliament. Let’s find out more about women in the Lok Sabha since 1957
Percentage Of Female Candidates In 2019 Lok Sabha Elections For Major Political Parties
| Party | Percentage of Female Candidates |
|---|---|
| AAP | 11.43 |
| AITC | 40.5 |
| BDJ | 36.8 |
| BJP | 12 |
| BSP | 8.3 |
| INC | 13.7 |
| SP | 17.2 |
Source –thewire.in
Growing Representation Of Women In The Lok Sabha Since 1957
Since India’s independence, the representation of women in Indian politics has been steadily increasing.
In the second Lok Sabha elections, women made up only 3% of the total candidates. And in 2019, this percentage rose to 9% with 716 female candidates running for office.
Interestingly this has not translated to a proportionate increase in the percentage of women winning the polls. While 49% of the women contesting the 1957 elections won their seats, only about 11% of the women contesting the 2019 elections won their seats.
| Year | Female Candidates | Female MPs | Winning Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 45 | 22 | - |
| 1962 | 66 | 31 | 7.3 |
| 1967 | 67 | 29 | 6.2 |
| 1971 | 86 | 21 | 5.2 |
| 1977 | 70 | 19 | 3.5 |
| 1980 | 143 | 28 | 5.7 |
| 1984 | 171 | 43 | 8.6 |
| 1989 | 198 | 29 | 5.9 |
| 1991 | 330 | 38 | 7.7 |
| 1996 | 599 | 40 | 7.7 |
| 1998 | 274 | 43 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 284 | 49 | 9.4 |
| 2004 | 355 | 45 | 8.7 |
| 2009 | 556 | 59 | 10.7 |
| 2014 | 668 | 62 | 11.6 |
| 2019 | 716 | 78 | 14.6 |
Source –Scroll.in
Women In The 17th Lok Sabha
Women make up 14% of the 17th Lok Sabha. Both the main Indian political parties, the BJP and the Congress fielded over 50 female candidates each.
42 of the female MPS who won their seats are from the BJP while 7 are from the Trinamool Congress and 6 from the Biju Janata Dal.
In terms of state representation, Odisha fielded the maximum percentage of female candidates while Himachal Pradesh had the least representation.
Almost half the total number of women MPs came from the four states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
| State | Percentage of Female Candidates | Percentage of Women MPs |
|---|---|---|
| Odisha | 16 | 33 |
| Chhattisgarh | 13 | 27 |
| Uttarakhand | 12 | 20 |
| West Bengal | 12 | 24 |
| Assam | 10 | 7 |
| Delhi | 10 | 14 |
| Jharkhand | 10 | 14 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 10 | 14 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 9 | 16 |
| Bihar | 9 | 8 |
| Kerala | 9 | 5 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 9 | 14 |
| Maharashtra | 9 | 19 |
| Punjab | 9 | 15 |
| Rajasthan | 8 | 12 |
| Tamil Nadu | 8 | 8 |
| Gujarat | 7 | 23 |
| Telangana | 6 | 6 |
| Haryana | 5 | 10 |
| Karnataka | 5 | 7 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 4 | 0 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 2 | 0 |
Demographics Of Female Representatives
23 of the 78 female MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha are in their 40s with the average age of all women MPs being 43 years. Chandrani Murmu is the youngest women MP at the age of 25 years.
On the other end of the spectrum, 74-year-old Preneet Kaur is the eldest MP. 76% of all women MPS are graduates while 17% have studied only till the 12th class. 8 women MPs were actresses before turning to politics.
Women MPs Who Made History
This election was notable not only for the highest number of seats won by women but also for a number of individual political achievements by women. Some of the most notable amongst them are:
- Ramya Haridas: Winning a seat from the Alathus constituency made Ramya Haridas the second Dalit woman MP from Kerala. She is also the only woman from the state to have become an MP in 2019.
- Chandrani Murmu: Chandrani Murmu, a 25-year-old, engineering graduate became the youngest MP in the Lok Sabha not only in 2019 but in the entire history of India. She was elected from the Keonjhar constituency in Odisha.
- Goddeti Madhavi: Goddeti Madhavi won her seat from the Araku constituency in Andhra Pradesh. She is the youngest MP from the state and declared the least assets amongst all winning MPs. Her declared assets amounted to only Rs 1.4 lakhs.
- Maloth Kavitha: The 38-year-old BSc graduate was the only woman to win a seat from Telangana. She is also the first tribal woman to win a seat from the Mahabubabad constituency.
- Pramila Bisoi: A winner of the Prakruti Mitra and Prakruti Bandhu awards, the 70-year old is a class 2 dropout who won her seat from the Aska constituency in Odisha.
Also See
2004 Lok Sabha To 2018 Assembly Election Results
- Karnataka Lok Sabha Election Results 2019
- 2014 Lok Sabha Elections Result From Karnataka
- 2009 Lok Sabha Elections Result From Karnataka
- 2004 Lok Sabha Election Result From Karnataka
- 2018 Karnataka Assembly Election Results
- 2013 Karnataka Assembly Election Results
- 2004 Karnataka Assembly Election Results
2019 Karnataka Lok Sabha Election
- Karnataka Lok Sabha Elections 2019 – Poll Dates And More
- Karnataka Lok Sabha 2019 Candidates List
- Loksabha Elections 2019: Opinion Polls, Exit Polls, Results
- Karnataka Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Voter Turnout
- The Counting Of Votes For Lok Sabha 2019– Everything You Must Know
- 2019 Lok Sabha Elections – Vote Share And Other Interesting Facts