Women in polls: Parties high on rhetoric, low on action

New Delhi: From the Right to the Left, parties are heading to Parliament this week to possibly clear the early implementation of 33 per cent quota for women in lawmaking bodies, but they have not walked the talk in this round of Assembly elections.

Amid the rhetoric over earmarking one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies, parties like the BJP and the Congress and those on the Left have fewer than 15 per cent women among their candidates in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, where they have nearly 100 or more nominees.

The only exception is the Senthamizhan Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), which has fielded women in 117 of the 234 seats in Tamil Nadu — a 50 per cent share. The party had done it the last time as well.

Among the mainstream parties, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has 17.86 per cent women candidates, the highest among its peers.

This is despite parties wooing women voters — nearly 50 per cent or more of the electorate in poll-bound states and the Union Territory of Puducherry — with so-called “freebies” like monthly allowances, amid rhetoric about their eagerness to clear hurdles to implementing the 33% quota for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. 

"Winnability" is cited as the biggest reason, with party managers also considering caste arithmetic when choosing candidates.

While data on the latest candidates’ family backgrounds are not available, a study indicates that women from political families are more likely to get an election ticket. 

An Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report from September 2025 showed that almost half the women MPs and MLAs in the country — 251 (47 per cent) of 539 — were dynasts.

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed, an aspirant for a ticket from Kerala’s Kannur, posted on X after being snubbed: “denied but not defeated…And if the woman happens to be talented, the situation is dire! Very very sad.” She was later made a “star-campaigner” in the state.

This time, TMC fielded 52 women (17.86 per cent of 291) in West Bengal, while its main rival, the BJP, fielded 31 (10.58%) out of 293 nominees. The Congress’ 40 (13.6% of 294) candidates are women, while it is 35 (13.72%) out of 255 for the Left.

In Tamil Nadu, DMK has 18 women (10.97 per cent) among 164 candidates, while AIADMK has 19 (11.37 per cent) out of 167. The Congress has a single woman (3.57 per cent) among its 28 candidates, while the BJP has 18.51 per cent (five out of 27), and actor Vijay’s TVK 23 (9.82 per cent) out of 234. In Kerala, where the poll concluded on Thursday, LDF fielded 18 women (12.85 per cent).