Top 6 states and a Bottom 1: Why the road to 33% quota for women is very long

The next states by the size of women representation in the list were West Bengal (13.7%), Jharkhand (12.35%), Rajasthan (12%), Uttar Pradesh (11.66%) and Uttarakhand (11.43%). Clearly, the size of the Assemblies (70 for Uttarakhand; 403 for UP) was not a factor in the proportion of women getting elected.

The relative status of women in the states too did not seem a factor, as the examples of states in the South and Northeast showed, which fared among the lowest in the list, based on data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha in December 2022.

So, what are the factors behind the above six states ranking among the top in this list (little separates UP and Uttarakhand). In contrast, what is holding back women in Karnataka, the state with the lowest share of women in its Assembly (3.14%), ahead of only J&K (2.3%) and the two Northeast states of Mizoram and Nagaland, which elected no woman to their Assemblies in their last state polls before 2022.

While J&K has not had an Assembly election since 2014 now, Nagaland elected its first-ever women MLAs in the February 2023 Assembly polls.

CHHATTISGARH

Quota in local polls, tribal culture a leg-up for women

 13 of 90 MLAs elected in 2018 were women, next elections due end of year

POLITICAL connections, reservation in local elections and a dominant tribal culture where women hold a more preeminent position are the prime reasons behind Chhattisgarh faring at the top among states in women representation in Assembly.

While 13 out of total 90 MLAs who won in 2018 were women, this number is now up to 16, following bypolls, taking their percentage up to 17.7% of the House. Of these 16, as many as 13 are first-time MLAs.

The number of women contestants has also been rising in Chhattisgarh, jumping from 83 in 2013 to 132 in 2018. However, of the 132, as many as 102 lost their deposits in 2018. Even more telling is the fact that of these 132 contestants, the two main parties – the BJP and Congress – fielded 14 (10%) and 13 (9.8%), respectively. A vast majority (52) contested as Independents. Many were seen as propped up by parties to cut into votes of their rivals.

Following the bypolls, the Congress now accounts for 13 of the 16 women MLAs in the Chhattisgarh Assembly, while the BJP, Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-Jogi (JCC-J) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have 1 MLA each.

POLITICAL connections, reservation in local elections and a dominant tribal culture where women hold a more preeminent position are the prime reasons behind Chhattisgarh faring at the top among states in women representation in Assembly.

In 2013, 83 women were in the contest for the Chhattisgarh elections, of whom 10 were elected – 6 from the BJP and 4 from the Congress.

The women contestants in the state have been rising even as the percentage gap between male and female voters has been closing. In 2018, the voting percentage was almost equal for men and women — 76.58% to 76.33%.

Former Chhattisgarh state election commissioner (2002-2008) Sushil Trivedi sees the reservation for women in panchayats as the prime reason behind the jump in their numbers in politics. “While one-third of the seats in panchayats and municipalities have been reserved for women since 1993, in 2008, the Chhattisgarh government increased this to 50%,” he points out.

Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader T S Singh Deo also attributes the significant rise in women participation in elections to the same factor. “For example, the Surguja zila panchayat has 11 seats, of whom 10 are held by women. So, it has more women representatives than the seats reserved for them.” Surguja is Singh Deo’s turf.

The Deputy CM also talks about the impact of tribal culture, “where there is a lot of equality”. “In comparison to today’s advanced cities, I have seen more gender equality in rural and tribal regions. Even if you see the male-female ratio, it is much better in our state.”

Women MLAs who have risen from panchayat ranks in Chhattisgarh include Anila Bhedia, 56, a two-time MLA who is currently a Cabinet minister. Bhedia was a zila panchayat member in 2009.

Similarly, the lone BJP woman MLA, Ranjana Sahu, 40, who is a post-graduate, used to be chairperson of a janpad panchayat; as was Congress MLA Mamta Chandrakar, 45. The lone BSP woman MLA, Indu Banjare, 33, was also a zila panchayat member, while Uttri Jangde of the Congress, who has studied up to Class 8, was a sarpanch for five years.

At least six of the 16 women MLAs followed family members into politics. Dantewada MLA Devti Karma, 61, is the wife of the late Congress heavyweight Mahendra Karma. She first won in the 2013 elections from Dantewada after Karma died in the Jhiram valley Naxal attack. In 2018, Devti lost to senior leader BJP leader Bhima Mandvi. After Mandvi too was killed in a Naxal attack in 2019, Devti won a bypoll for the seat against Mandvi’s wife.

Savitri Mandavi contested from the Bastar region’s Bhanupratappur (ST) seat, that fell vacant following the death of her husband and three-time MLA Manoj Mandavi due to a heart attack in 2022. Savitri used to be a schoolteacher.

Sangita Sinha, 48, contested from the Sanjari Balod seat, which was won by her husband Bhaiyaram in 2013.

The lone woman JCC-J MLA, Renu Jogi, 73, is the wife of its founder-leader and first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Ajit Jogi. Renu, a doctor by training, is now a four-time MLA.

Another MLA Anita Sharma, 56, who has studied up to Class 11, got the Congress ticket in 2013 (when she lost), and again in 2018, after her husband and Congress MLA Yogendra Sharma was killed in the Jhiram Ghati Naxal attack of 2013.

First-time MLA Ambica Singh Deo belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Koriya and her uncle Ramchandra Singh Deo was a minister in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Her profession is listed as interior designer, with a consultancy business.

Of the remaining 10 women MLAs, Lakshmi Dhruw has been an assistant professor for 29 years, Shakuntala Sahu, 37, is a post-graduate and Congress general secretary, Rashmi Singh, 39, holds several degrees, while Yashoda Verma is a Congress block-level leader who won an MLA seat in a bypoll.

However, says Anupama Saxena, of the Department of Political Science & Public Administration at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, the representation of women has no meaning if it doesn’t reflect in practical ways. “In my opinion, women representation is appreciable, but it does not necessarily always translate into increased participation of women in political decision-making. For example, is there any party in Chhattisgarh which has made a woman the state chief or head of their election committee? How many times do we have women as CMs or handling important ministries like Home Department or posts such as Speaker?”

She adds that they had studied the issue of the high representation of women in the Chhattisgarh Assembly compared to other states, and did not feel it was an irreversible thing. At the same time, Saxena says: “One thing is true, that due to various reasons in Chhattisgarh, gender equality here is more than in any other Hindi-speaking state. One major reason is the high tribal and rural population, and the forest- and agriculture-based economy where women carry out important tasks. However, it may be premature to say this is the reason for the rise in representation of women in politics.”