As discussions intensify on implementing the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, Punjab’s electoral history shows that women’s representation in the Vidhan Sabha has remained consistently low over the past three decades.
While the law has been passed, its implementation is linked to the post-Census delimitation process. However, if the 33 per cent quota were applied to Punjab’s existing 117assembly seats, the state would have at least 39 women MLAs — a sharp jump from current levels.
In the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, 91 women candidates contested, but only 13 were elected — the second-highest in the state’s history. With the Aam Aadmi Party sweeping 92 of 117 seats, 11 of the women MLAs were from the AAP, while one each was from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress.
Among prominent winners were fresh faces of the AAP: Jeevan Jyot Kaur from Amritsar East, Narinder Kaur Bharaj — the youngest MLA at 26 from Sangrur — along with Ganieve Majithia of SAD (Bikram Singh Majithia’s wife) and senior Congress leader Aruna Chaudhary from Dinanagar.
Despite the improved numbers, women accounted for just 11.1 per cent of the House.
2017: sharp dip
The 2017 Punjab Assembly elections saw a decline, with only 6 women MLAs elected out of 117 seats — a representation of 5.13 per cent. Of the 81 women candidates, three each were from the Congress and AAP.
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Congress winners included senior leaders Aruna Chaudhary and Razia Sultana and a fresh face Satkar Kaur, while the AAP’s first-time entrants — Baljinder Kaur, Saravjit Kaur Manuke and Rupinder Ruby — marked the party’s initial presence in the Punjab Assembly.
2012: highest representation so far
The highest number of women MLAs — 14 — was recorded in 2012, when the SAD-BJP alliance returned to power. Of 93 women candidates, 14 were elected, including six each from the SAD and the Congress, and two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Prominent names included Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, and Karan Kaur Brar – all from the Congress –and former SGPC president Jagir Kaur from the SAD. Even then, women comprised only about 12 per cent of the Assembly.
2007 to 1997: limited presence
In 2007, only 7 women MLAs were elected out of 56 candidates. Of these, four were from Congress, two from the SAD, and one from the BJP.
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In the 2002 Punjab Assembly, 8 women MLAs (5 from the Congress and 3 from the SAD) were elected out of 71 candidates.
Similarly, in 1997 — when the SAD-BJP alliance formed the government for the first time — 52 women candidates contested and only 7 won. Of these, four were from SAD-BJP and one from Congress.
Representation remains low despite participation
Across elections, while the number of women candidates has gradually increased, their success rate has remained low,withrepresentation rarely crossing 10–12 per cent of the PunjabAssemblystrength.
With the proposed reservation, Punjab could see a threefold increase in the number of women legislators, fundamentally altering the political landscape.
Reactions
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Former MP Preneet Kaur and other BJP women leaders welcomed the move and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the legislation, calling it a transformational step for women’s empowerment.
Preneet Kaur said the Act will provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha, ensuring stronger representation of women in politics and greater participation in decision-making and law-making.
Highlighting women-centric initiatives, she said, “Under PM Modi’s leadership, schemes such as PM Mudra Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Stand-Up India, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Lakhpati Didi, DAY-NRLM, and PM Awas Yojana have significantly improved the social and economic empowerment of women across India.”
Kaur said the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will mark the beginning of a new era of women-led governance and further strengthen women’s role in shaping India’s future.
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While reiterating its “full support” to women’s reservation, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Centre’s proposed move on population-based delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, “under the garb of Women’s Reservation, is highly discriminatory against Punjab”.
“The Shiromani Akali Dal is strongly in favour of women’s reservation but firmly opposes using it as a camouflage for delimitation. Punjab, a state with a predominantly minority character, will be the biggest victim of this delimitation exercise. While Punjab will see only a nominal increase in seats, Haryana will witness nearly a 100 per cent increase, almost doubling its representation in Lok Sabha,” Badal said.
“By making population the sole basis of delimitation, this move punishes Punjab for successfully implementing the national agenda on population control and rewards states that have defied those goals. Even more alarmingly, this delimitation exercise appears to be a conspiracy to hand over disproportionate control of India to just four Hindi heartland states — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan — by almost doubling their combined strength in Lok Sabha and pushing it beyond 40 per cent of the total seats”.
“This will deal a death blow to the already weakened federal structure of the country. In the interest of true federal unity and integrity, the Shiromani Akali Dal will spearhead an all-party initiative in Punjab to strongly oppose this assault on our state and on India’s federal structure.”
