Women Political Representation in India: ADR Data 2026

Context: Women Political Representation in India
An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms found that women’s participation in electoral politics remains significantly low despite the enactment of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, highlighting the gap between constitutional commitment and actual political representation.

Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023

Also known as the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Key Provisions

Provides 33% reservation for women in:

• Lok Sabha
• State Legislative Assemblies
• Delhi Legislative Assembly

Reservation Within Reservation

• Includes reservation for SC/ST women within existing SC/ST reserved seats.

Important Articles Added

Article 330A

• Reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha.

Article 332A

• Reservation of seats for women in State Legislative Assemblies.

Article 334A

• Implementation, rotation and duration of reservation.

Implementation

• Will be implemented after the first Census conducted after the Act.
• Implementation will happen after the subsequent delimitation exercise.

Duration

• Reservation will operate for 15 years.
• It can be extended by Parliament.

Not Applicable To

• Rajya Sabha
• Legislative Councils

Mains Value Addition

ADR Data

• Women constituted only 10.2% of candidates, meaning 3,273 out of 31,429 candidates, in elections held after the enactment of the Act.
• In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, women constituted only 9.6% of total candidates.
• 152 Lok Sabha constituencies, around 28%, had no woman candidate.

Major Party Data

Major parties remained far below the 33% benchmark:

• INC: around 14% women candidates
• BJP: around 13% women candidates

Women in 18th Lok Sabha

• 74 women MPs
• 13.6% representation
• Highest-ever in absolute numbers

Broader Concern

• Women constitute nearly 50% of India’s population.
• But parliamentary representation remains below 15%.

Global Gender Gap Report 2025

• Overall Rank: 129 out of 146
• Political Empowerment Rank: 48 out of 146

Grassroots Women’s Reservation

Women’s reservation already exists at the grassroots level.

Article 243D

• Panchayats

Article 243T

• Urban Local Bodies

Important Fact

• Constitutional minimum is 33% reservation.
• Many States provide 50% reservation.
• More than 14 lakh elected women representatives serve in Panchayati Raj Institutions.