Haryana Assembly elections: The state has elected only 87 women MPs since 1966 | Latest news from India

An analysis of historical data shows that the state has elected only 87 female MPs since its separation from Punjab in 1966. Of these 87 women, 47 have been elected since the 2000 general elections. However, the state, known for its unequal gender ratio, has not only had female MPs, but has also never had a woman as chief minister.

In the most recent state assembly elections in 2019, a total of 104 women contested in the state, of which only 9 were able to secure victory. In 2014, a record number of 13 out of 116 female candidates were elected to the assembly.

Child sex ratio in Haryana

The latest data on child sex ratio is from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted during 2019-2021. In Haryana, the child sex ratio is 885 girls per 1000 boys. This is a significant improvement from the 834 girls per 1000 boys recorded in the 2011 census.

Despite all the progress, the child sex ratio in Haryana is still below the national average of 933 girls per 1,000 boys, indicating that much work remains to be done to combat gender discrimination and ensure equal survival and development of girls in the state.

Candidates of the parties

While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated ten women, the main opposition party, the Congress, has fielded twelve female candidates – the highest number of any political party running in the election.

Former state education minister and Congress candidate from Jhajjar constituency Geeta Bhukkal said, “A bill giving 33 per cent representation to women in Parliament and state assemblies has been passed, but it will not come into force until 2029, which is also a mockery of women.”

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) alliance have together fielded 11 women, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded 10 women from its 90-strong list.

The new alliance between the Azad Samaj Party and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has nominated eight women for the 85 seats it is contesting in this election.

According to a study by Ashoka University's Triveni Centre for Political Data (TCPD), women's representation in the state has always been a problem as the state's history has been marked by social bias, crimes against women and poor performance on gender indicators.

“The increasing number of women candidates in the Vidhan Sabha elections over the years and their ability to comfortably outvote men in the state elections from 2000 to 2019 is a plus for women in politics in Haryana. However, among the women MPs elected during the period in question, many came from wealthy political families, so the circumstances have remained relatively unchanged,” the study found.

Important candidates and their legacy

Arti Singh Rao – She is the daughter of Union Minister Inderjit Singh and is contesting on the BJP ticket in the Ateli constituency.

Shruti Chaudhary – As the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Bansi Lal, she switched from the Congress Party to the BJP and is now running in the Tosham constituency.

Vinesh Phogat – The wrestler is making her electoral debut on a Congress ticket from Julana constituency in Jind district. Phogat was the face of the wrestlers' protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chairman and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom the wrestlers accused of sexual harassment. She is taking on AAP's Kavita Dalal, the first Indian woman wrestler to compete in WWE.

Savitri Jindal- She is the richest woman in Asia and chairperson of the OP Jindal Group. She rebelled against the BJP to contest as an independent against Haryana minister and sitting MP from Hisar Kamal Gupta. Savitri had said she was contesting to fulfill the aspirations of the people of her constituency, Hisar.

Chitra Sarwara – She is contesting as an independent candidate for the Ambala Cantonment constituency against Anil Vij of the BJP – a six-time MP and former Home Minister – and Parvinder Singh Pari of the Congress.

Sarwara is the daughter of Nirmal Singh, adviser to former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. She contested the 2019 elections as an independent after the Congress denied her candidature. She came second with more than 44,000 votes.

Rabia Kidwai – Fielded by the AAP, she is the first woman candidate from Nuh, a Muslim-dominated constituency. She is the granddaughter of Akhlaq-Ur-Rehman Kidwai, the 13th Governor of Haryana.

Kumudni Rakesh Daultabad – She is contesting as an independent in Badshahpur, the largest constituency in Haryana. Her husband and former MP for the constituency, Rakesh Daultabad, passed away earlier this year. He won the 2019 election as an independent.

While female representation also offers opportunities, the Ashoka University study finds that the dominance of women from wealthy families leads to a concentration of power in the already influential political families.

A professor at the Central University of Haryana says the state's politics are still rooted in patriarchy. “Candidacies are given only to women who come from big political families. It is observed that it is difficult for women to win even if they contest independently or without strong political support,” she told news agency PTI.

“The same can be inferred from the fact that since 2000 there has been only one independent candidate, Shakuntla Bhagwaria, who won the elections in 2005 as an independent candidate,” she added.

(With inputs from PTI)