Parties Yet To Walk The Talk On Women’s Reservation In Politics

MADURAI: Though legally-approved and politically-celebrated, women’s representation in politics continues to receive limited importance in practice, with party nominations for the 2026 Assembly elections reflecting a clear gap between promise and performance.

First introduced in 1996 and widely supported across party lines, the legislation to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in politics took 27 long years to be passed by Parliament, eventually becoming law in 2023.

Known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and enacted through the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth constitutional amendment, it provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.

However, the provision remains on paper for now, as it will come into force only after a delimitation exercise based on a fresh Census conducted after the Act’s commencement.

Even parties that had strongly opposed the delay in implementing the law have fallen short in practice, failing to accord due importance to women in their candidate selection.

The DMK, which projects itself as a proponent of women’s rights, has fielded 18 women, out of the 164 constituencies it is contesting, accounting for only 10.97 per cent of its total nominations; while the AIADMK, another Dravidian major, is no better, nominating 20 women, or 11.97 per cent of the 167 seats it is contesting.

The Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), which, like the two Dravidian majors, claims Periyar, the icon of women’s empowerment, as its ideological guide, has allotted tickets to women in only 9.82 per cent of the seats it is contesting in its electoral debut; while among national parties, the BJP has fielded 18.57 per cent women candidates and the Congress has limited women’s representation to 7.27 per cent.

The Left parties, which have traditionally championed gender equality, have also not met expectations. The CPI(M), contesting five constituencies, has fielded only one woman candidate, while the CPI has not nominated any woman candidate.

The VCK, which espouses Dalit and women’s rights, has fielded only two women candidates out of the eight constituencies it is contesting, falling short by about 7 percentage points of the 33 per cent benchmark envisaged under the law.

In contrast, the NTK, led by Seeman, continues to stand apart, having consistently allotted 50 per cent of its tickets to women since its electoral debut. In the coming elections, the party has fielded women in 117 constituencies, surpassing even the yet-to-be-implemented statutory benchmark.

The trend underscores a persistent disconnect between legislative intent and political execution, raising questions over the seriousness of parties in advancing women’s representation in electoral politics.