Only 10.2% women fielded in 20 Assembly polls since passage of women's Bill in 2023: report
Practice PYQs on this topic
500+ questions on Polity with explanations
📌 Summary:
-
An Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysis shows that since the women's reservation Bill was passed in 2023, only 10.2% of candidates fielded in subsequent Assembly polls have been women
-
Data: across 20 States/UTs that held Assembly elections, of 31,429 total candidates only 3,273 (10.2%) were women
-
The proportion of women candidates did not exceed 14% in any of these States/UTs
-
Context: the women's reservation Bill (as passed) mandates 33% reservation for women in legislatures — but its implementation is tied to a delimitation exercise, so the gap between mandate and current candidate share is stark
-
Implication: political parties continue to under-nominate women even after the constitutional commitment, highlighting a gap between de jure provision and de facto representation
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — elections and political representation; women's reservation, role of parties; GS1 — women empowerment in politics
📝 Prelims Facts:
-
Women's reservation (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam / 106th Constitutional Amendment) mandates 33% seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies
-
ADR analysis: 3,273 of 31,429 candidates (10.2%) were women across 20 States/UTs; max share under 14%
-
Implementation linked to delimitation after the next Census
🔑 Key Term: Women's reservation Bill (106th Amendment, 2023) — reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women, to take effect after delimitation
UPSC Classification
See PYQs related to “Polity”
Every classification tag above links to actual UPSC questions asked on that topic — with answer, explanation and elimination logic. Only in the app.