Women are recasting the electoral pitch

India’s electoral history is witnessing a tectonic shift, driven by the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party. At its heart lies a quiet yet powerful revolution—the rising influence of women voters. 

Often overlooked in mainstream political analyses, women are no longer mere numbers in the arithmetic of elections. They have emerged as a decisive force, driving transformative changes across assembly and national elections. 

This silent surge has reshaped the strategies of political parties. It has influenced electoral campaigns, policy designs, and welfare schemes, steering governance towards a welfare-centred approach to state-society relations.

In 2024, 312 million women cast their votes, eclipsing male voter turnout in 137 constituencies. This was more than a numerical milestone; it marked a shift in the political consciousness of women as voters with agency—an independent voice advocating for better well-being and economic opportunities. 

This change extends beyond turnout. A 2014 survey revealed that 70 per cent of women voters made independent decisions, free from familial or spousal influences.

By 2024, this autonomy became even more pronounced, with women prioritising welfare, safety, and financial security over communal or ideological rhetoric. This shift has forced political parties, including the BJP, to recalibrate their approach, toning down divisive rhetoric in favour of targeted welfare schemes to win over women voters. 

Consider the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections. The BJP-led alliance launched Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, offering Rs 1,500 monthly to women—a carefully crafted strategy, not just another welfare pitch. Similarly, Jharkhand’s Maiya Yojana, which provided Rs 1,000 monthly to women, helped the JMM-Congress alliance consolidate its base. These schemes were not mere giveaways; they were lifelines for families struggling with rising costs, and their electoral impact was undeniable.

A report by CSDS suggested that women benefiting from government schemes were more likely to support incumbents and less likely to vote for narrow, caste-based parties. Welfare schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, which subsidised cooking gas, are emblematic of how women are driving political agendas. 

Data from the National Election Studies 2019 data underlines this trend. Beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme were 4.6 percentage points more likely to believe the BJP works for the poor and 4.5 points more satisfied with the central government. 

But, while women’s votes have tipped the scales in state and national elections, women’s representation in politics remains dismal. Women constitute just 13.6 per cent of the Lok Sabha, far below the global average of 25 per cent.

While the Women Reservation Bill promised to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women, its implementation remains stalled, casting doubt on its intent. Critics argue the bill, introduced before the 2024 elections, was a publicity stunt to project progressiveness rather than genuine commitment to gender equality in leadership.

Political parties, accustomed to ignoring the unique needs of women voters, have been forced to adapt. Still, these temporal initiatives, though important, often fall short on addressing systemic issues affecting the structural inequities and inadequacies that affect women’s well-being.

Welfare schemes are effective for providing short-term relief or heightening electoral expectations, but they cannot replace long-term, deeper reforms through a cultural shift anchored by greater investment in education, employment, and healthcare. 

Despite the popularity of conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes—now active in 14 states and reaching 20 per cent of India’s adult female population—they risk being a patchy solution that fails to address deeper structural problems while imposing fiscal prolificacy questions.

What’s needed is a decisive shift from transactional, short-term, welfare populist politics to transformational policies benefiting women across states and socio-economic divides. 

The Women’s Reservation Bill passed in the 17th Lok Sabha, was lauded as a landmark move to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, its implementation was deliberately stalled by linking it to the completion of the census and delimitation exercises, rendering it a publicity stunt. Critics argue that the bill was strategically timed before the 2024 elections to project a progressive image and gather headlines while doing little to address the pressing issue of gender inequality in political leadership.

Women have demonstrated their transformative power as voters, reshaping electoral outcomes across the nation. For this vision to materialize, Indian politics and parties must go beyond symbolic gestures. Political parties need to prioritize structural reforms such as gender-sensitive budgeting, mentorship programs for women leaders, and stronger anti-discrimination laws in workplaces. These steps, coupled with immediate enforcement of the Women’s Reservation Bill, are critical for a democracy where women are recognized as equal stakeholders, not sidelined as constituent voters alone.

(The writer is a professor, dean, and director, Centre for New Economic Studies, O P Jindal Global University)