73 women elected to LS, lower than 2019

New Delhi: A total of 73 women have won the Lok Sabha elections, a slight dip from 78 elected in 2019. Of the total women MPs elected to the Lower House from across the country, West Bengal is leading with 11 female MPs. A total of 797 women candidates had contested the elections with the BJP fielding the maximum at 69 followed by the Congress at 41.

This is the first election since the passage of the women’s reservation bill in the Parliament to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The law is yet to come into effect. According to an analysis of the Election Commission data, BJP’s 30 women candidates won the polls this time, Congress’ 14, TMC’s 11, four of the Samajwadi Party’s, three of the DMK, and two each of the JDU and LJP(R).

With over 13.44 per cent female MPs, the 18th Lok Sabha will have one of the highest number of women members since 1952. The 17th Lok Sabha had the highest number of women parliamentarians at 78, constituting over 14 per cent of the total strength. In the 16th Lok Sabha, 64 women were its members, while 52 women were elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. BJP’s Hema Malini, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, and SP’s Dimple Yadav retained their seats in the Lok Sabha polls, but candidates like Kangna Ranaut and Misha Bharati stole the show with their victories.