Women’s Participation in Electoral Politics in India: An Overview of The Four General Elections

Women’s participation at all levels of politics is essential to achieve true democracy. The present paper gives an overview of the Indian general elections of 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 to understand the actual state of women’s participation in electoral politics in India. The paper begins with a brief overview of the constitutional provisions and initiatives that have been implemented post - independence to increase the political representation of women including the monumental 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. Importance of recently passed women’s reservation bill “Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023” is also discussed. The paper analyses women’s participation in the Indian general elections of 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 as voters, as contestants and their representation in parliament. Suggestions have been given in the paper to increase women’s participation in politics. Findings from the study reveal that there is steady progress in women’s electoral participation in India in recent years, still more women are needed to make India a truly representative democracy.