Limited Female Representation in Assam Assembly Elections
Overview of Women's Participation in Assam Elections
Data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) indicates that women’s representation in the Assam Assembly has remained limited despite their growing participation as voters. (Photo - @himantabiswa / X)
Bongaigaon, April 2: In the upcoming Assembly elections, only two female candidates are contesting in both Bongaigaon and Chirang districts.
In Bongaigaon, the two women in the race are Diptimayee Choudhury from the AGP and Pranita Barman representing the SUCI. Diptimayee is the wife of Phani Bhusan Choudhury, the MP for Barpeta, while Pranita hails from Udalguri district.
Diptimayee previously secured the Bongaigaon seat during the 2024 by-elections after her husband was elected as an MP.
Chirang district has a total of 17 candidates vying for election, including one woman, Banima Brahma from the Voters International Party, contesting in the Sidli-Chirang Assembly seat. Another female candidate, Nilanjana Chakraborty from the Bharatiya Gana Parishad (BGP), is running in the Bijni Assembly seat.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the representation of women in the Assam Assembly remains low, despite their increasing voter turnout.
In the 2016 elections, only eight out of 91 women candidates were elected, and this number fell to just six out of 76 women candidates in 2021, within a 126-member assembly.
This data underscores the ongoing disparity between women's electoral engagement and their actual representation in legislative positions, even as political parties pledge to enhance inclusivity.