At nine out of 70, the number of women MLAs in the Delhi Legislative Assembly was at its peak 25 years ago.
The state assembly, at present, has 70 seats, up from 42 in 1951. The current assembly has only eight women representatives — all from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which holds 62 out of 70 seats.
Data from the last three assembly polls held in 2013, 2015 and 2020 shows that this is not because the voter hasn’t reposed faith in women candidates — out of the nine candidates AAP fielded, eight won their seats in 2020. Congress fielded 10 women candidates in 2020, which was the highest among the three. BJP fielded six candidates. Their record has been similar in the previous two elections as well. (See box)
Data from the last three assembly polls held in 2013, 2015 and 2020 shows that this is not because the voter hasn’t reposed faith in women candidates — out of the nine candidates AAP fielded, eight won their seats in 2020. (Photo)
The Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Minister Atishi said the party supported the Bill “in-principle” but questioned its link to the delimitation exercise.
Calling it an exercise in “fooling women”, she said, “When you read the Bill clause by clause, you realise that the reservation will not come into effect till delimitation is complete, which cannot be done till at least 2026 after the census is conducted. Why can’t the Centre bring in reservation in the existing 543 seats? We demand that the Bill be amended and the waiting period for delimitation be done away with.”
When asked about the representation of women in the Delhi Legislative Assembly and in fielding candidates during polls, Atishi did not respond.
Delhi BJP, meanwhile, welcomed the introduction of the Bill, with president Virendra Sachdeva terming it the “most important Bill in the political history of India”.
“The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government had tried to get it passed four times between 1998 and 2003. But the Congress and its clan-oriented regional party colleagues scuttled the government’s efforts,” he said.
Asked about the party’s track record in fielding women candidates, he said, “It is a fact that there has been less representation of women in legislative duties, the reasons for which can range from political to social ones. But despite that, the BJP has given leaders such as Sushma Swaraj, and has introduced Kiran Bedi in politics… Women are the core beneficiaries of most, if not all, schemes rolled out by the BJP-Centre either directly or indirectly since it came to power,” he added.
Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely, a minister in three successive governments in the Capital led by Sheila Dikshit, said the Congress had always nurtured and laid emphasis on the role played by women leaders.
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“At the time of the elections, winnability becomes the sole criteria to choose and field candidates; I don’t disagree regarding the fact that there certainly is step-motherly treatment meted out to women when it comes to political candidature, but the Congress has always been the exception,” Lovely said.
Political activist Sharmishtha Mukherjee, who was fielded by the Congress from the Greater Kailash seat in 2015, also questioned the Bill’s link with delimitation.
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“I have been associated with the movement for women’s reservation in legislative positions since I was a student and welcome the intent of the Bill. But, at the same time, I feel that it is not right to connect it to the delimitation exercise. Why not right now… As far as the goal of the Bill is concerned, this is just the kind of affirmative action that is needed as far as the representation of women is concerned. There must be reserved seats and constituencies for them because, in the absence of such provisions, women’s representation in legislative roles is left to the whims and fancies of political parties. This will encourage more women from non-political parties to become a part of the process,” she added.
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