Citation :

Sujata Deka M.A, "Women’s Electoral Participation and Political Representation in India: From the Closing Turnout Gap to the Representation Gap, 1952-2026," International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 19-29, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V13I4P103

Abstract

Indian electoral politics has been rerouted, and the gap between the gender turnout has seen a significant decrease while the gap of descriptive representation has remained unchanged. The article looks at interesting evidence from the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and West Bengal and studies the national Lok Sabha trends from 1952/1957 till 2024 by utilizing secondary data from the Election Commission of India, PIB releases, PIB publications on Lok Adhar/MyNeta analyses. The national data shows that the turnout of women in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 was marginally higher at 65.78 per cent as compared to that of men, with an overall turnout rising from 38.8 per cent in 1957. However, the percentage of female MPs in the Lok Sabha has increased from 13.6 per cent to 13.8 per cent from 1952 to 2024. The same is found in data available for 2026, wherein the participation of women in voting is more than that of men in the three states – Assam, Kerala and West Bengal – while women continue to be underrepresented as candidates and winners. Results confirm that a key issue for the nation is not only to ensure that women come out to vote, but also to remove party-level, economic, social and institutional barriers that hinder women from becoming competitive candidates for election. This article aims not only to provide an update to a previous descriptive study, but also a revision of the same on the representation and empowerment of women in the political process in India.

Keywords

Women Voters, Political Representation, Lok Sabha, State Assembly Elections, Gender Gap, India.

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