Delhi Assembly polls: Parties in race to hike aids, but field only 12% women

Out of 210 candidates contesting in 70 constituencies, only 26 are females
Atishi (Kalkaji) , Alka Lamba (Kalkaji) Ariba khan (Okhla)
Atishi (Kalkaji) , Alka Lamba (Kalkaji) Ariba khan (Okhla)
Updated on
2 min read

NEW DELHI: Despite a heavy emphasis on women’s empowerment ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the three major political parties have shown little progress in increasing the share of seats allocated to women candidates.

In the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, AAP, Congress, and BJP fielded a total of 24 women candidates.

This year, the number has only risen to 26, indicating a modest improvement that hardly reflects the campaign rhetoric focused on women’s issues. With 70 assembly constituencies, a total of 210 candidates have been fielded, of which only 26 are women, making up just 12% of the total candidate pool.

The voter base in Delhi for this election stands at 1.55 crore, with 71.74 lakh women voters and 83.89 lakh male voters. In light of this, all three parties have made significant promises to woo women voters, including announcing women-specific schemes such as

financial assistance. AAP has promised Rs 2,100 per month to women, while both BJP and Congress have increased their offer to Rs 2,500. Additionally, all parties have pledged cash assistance to pregnant women and free travel for women on state-run buses.

The city’s top election official recently noted a higher number of women registering to vote compared to men ahead of this election. In the 2020 Delhi elections, the voter turnout among women was 62.5%, slightly lower than the 62.6% turnout among men. Meanwhile, in the same year, eight out of nine women candidates fielded by AAP won, contributing to the party’s significant victory.

This year, AAP has fielded a total of nine women candidates, including Pooja Balyan, Atishi, Pramila Tokas, Preeti Tomar, Bandana Kumari, Sarita Singh, Rakhi, Anjana Parcha, and Dhanwantri Chandela.

BJP has nominated nine women candidates, including Neelam Pahalwan, Urmila Gangwal, Kumari Rinku, Rekha Gupta, Deepti Indora, Poonam Sharma, Shweta Saini, Shikha Rai, and Priyanka Gautam. Congress, however, has fielded just eight women candidates this time: Sushma Devi, Aruna Kumari, Krishna Teerth, Harbani Kaur, Ragini Nayak, Pushpa Singh, Alka Lamba, and Areeba Khan. Despite promises aimed at women voters, the overall representation of women in the elections remains limited, highlighting a wide gap.

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