Assembly elections 2021: Fewer women candidates getting elected in four poll-bound states

The good news is more women are entering the electoral arena. The bad news, however, is that chances of women getting elected to the assembly have been dipping in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. 

The good news is more women are entering the electoral arena. The bad news, however, is that chances of women getting elected to the assembly have been dipping in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) reviewed data of the last three assembly elections in the four poll-bound states and found that the success rate for women candidates has dropped from 18 per cent in 2006 to 11 per cent in 2016. In other words, while nearly one out of every five women candidates could win elections in these states in 2006, the ratio dropped to one out of every 10 candidates a decade later. There is no denying the fact that with an increase in the number of women contestants, the success rate will likely see some erosion. What is worrying though is the drop in the actual number of women candidates getting elected from 79 in 2006 to 76 in 2011.