74 women have been victorious in the Lok Sabha elections, a slight decrease from the 78 who were elected in 2019.

In the latest Lok Sabha elections, 74 women emerged victorious, marking a slight decrease from the 78 elected in 2019. Among the elected women MPs from across India, West Bengal stands out with 11 female representatives.

Out of 797 women who contested the elections, the BJP led the way by fielding 69 women, while the Congress had 41 female candidates. This election was noteworthy as the first since the adoption of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, which mandates a one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, although it hasn’t been implemented yet.

An analysis conducted by the think-tank PRS revealed that 16% of the elected women MPs are under the age of 40. It was also found that 41% of these MPs (amounting to 30) have served in the Lok Sabha before, with one having previously been a member of the Rajya Sabha.

The analysis pointed out a gradual increase in women’s representation in the Lok Sabha over the years. However, India still trails behind several other countries in this regard. For example, women make up 46% of the Parliament in South Africa, 35% in the UK, and 29% in the US.

Election Commission data analysis shows that out of the women candidates, 30 from the BJP, 14 from Congress, 11 from TMC, four from the Samajwadi Party, three from DMK, and two each from JDU and LJP(R) were victorious.

The 18th Lok Sabha boasts over 13.62% female members, one of the highest since 1952. The 17th Lok Sabha had the highest number of women parliamentarians at 78, accounting for over 14% of the total strength. The 16th Lok Sabha had 64 women members, while the 15th Lok Sabha saw 52 women elected.

Notable wins included BJP’s Hema Malini, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, and SP’s Dimple Yadav. Newcomers like Kangana Ranaut and Misha Bharati also made headlines with their victories. Young candidates like Samajwadi Party’s Priya Saroj (25) from Machhlishahr and Iqra Choudhary (29) from Kairana also secured wins.

The Naam Tamilar Katchi stood out for achieving gender parity among its candidates with a 50% women representation. Other parties like the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Nationalist Congress Party also had significant female representation at 40%. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) each had 33% female representation, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party had 29% and 20% respectively, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at 25%.

A total of 8,360 candidates contested in the parliamentary polls, among them three transgender candidates who contested independently, though none were successful. In both the first and second Lok Sabhas, there were 24 women MPs.