In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections of 2024, women candidates showcased their mettle on the political stage, securing victories across various constituencies. Notable among them are Congress’ Kumari Selja, BJP’s Kangana Ranaut and Hema Malini, Samajwadi Party’s Dimple Yadav, and RJD’s Misa Bharti, among others.
Kumari Selja clinched victory in Haryana’s Sirsa Lok Sabha seat with a significant margin of over 2.5 lakh votes, while Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of the late BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, secured the New Delhi constituency with a commendable lead of 78,370 votes.
In Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, actor-politician Kangana Ranaut, contesting as a BJP candidate for the first time, emerged victorious against Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh with a margin of 74,755 votes. Meanwhile, veteran actor Hema Malini retained the Mathura seat by a substantial margin of 5.1 lakh votes.
Dimple Yadav, the wife of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the incumbent MP from Manipur, secured a comfortable victory over her nearest rival, BJP’s Jayveer Singh, with a substantial margin of 2,21,639 votes. Similarly, Misa Bharti, daughter of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, won the Pataliputra constituency in Bihar against Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav by a margin of 85,174 votes.
Other notable victories include Mahua Moitra from Trinamool Congress in West Bengal’s Krishnanagar seat and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from DMK in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukkudi constituency.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a total of 797 women candidates vying for seats in the parliament. While over 30 women candidates emerged victorious, this number is notably lower than the 78 women who won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Despite the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 240 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, it marks a decrease from the 303 seats achieved in the previous elections. The outcome underscores the evolving dynamics of Indian politics and the significance of women’s representation in the country’s democratic process.
