Despite a woman Chief Minister, the Delhi elections firmly establish the immediacy of the Women’s Reservation Bill

REKHA Gupta’s appointment as the Chief Minister of Delhi marks a significant political moment, not just for the Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’), which has returned to power in the national capital after 27 years, but also for the broader discourse on women’s representation in Indian politics. The decision to elevate Gupta to the state’s top executive position came after eleven days of deliberation within the party’s high command, eventually making her the fourth woman Chief Minister in Delhi’s history, only the second to currently serve in the chief minister’s position nationwide. . As she took the oath of office, in a grand ceremony at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, accompanying Gupta were her six cabinet colleagues: Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh. Inconspicuously, they were all men. The optics of this moment vividly portrayed that while the appointment of a woman as Chief Minister was being celebrated as a step toward gender inclusivity, a closer look at the electoral landscape suggested otherwise. .In 21 of Delhi’s seventy seats, which is thirty percent of the total, there was not a single woman candidate, neither party affiliated nor independent..The numbers this electionThe 2025 Delhi Assembly election, despite being fought largely on issues concerning women: ranging from safety to economic welfare, had strikingly poor women’s representation. Only 5 of Delhi’s seventy seats were won by women - a mere 7.14 percent representation in the assembly. It gave us a sharp realist lens on the ineffectiveness of campaign narratives on women’s empowerment and representation. .‘Pass 33% Women’s Reservation Bill’: Activists Call for Passage of Bill Pending for 25 Years.Among the five elected women in Delhi, four belong to the BJP: Rekha Gupta (Shalimar Bagh), Poonam Sharma (Wazirpur), Neelam Pahalwan (Najafgarh), and Shikha Roy (Greater Kailash). The sole woman legislator from the Aam Aadmi Party (‘AAP’) is Atishi, the former Chief Minister, who contested and won from the Kalkaji constituency.The false promise of representationThroughout the Delhi elections, all the major political parties aggressively tussled over wooing women voters. AAP, BJP, and the Congress all promised cash-transfer schemes targeted specifically at women. AAP pledged Rs 2,100 per month for women in Delhi, while both BJP and Congress went a step further, offering Rs 2,500 per month if voted to power. This trend of competitive populism underscores the mistreatment of women within an electorate merely as a voting demographic, and not as stakeholders in electoral contests..The 2024 Lok Sabha elections, held after the bill’s passage, saw only 74 women elected to the 18th Lok Sabha—just 13.6 percent of the total seats..Despite rhetorical commitments to women’s welfare, each of the parties were reluctant to field women as candidates. BJP, which contested 68 seats, allocated only 8 tickets to women, a meager 11.76 percent. AAP, contesting all 70 seats, nominated just 9 women (12.85 percent), while Congress also fielded just 9 women candidates. These figures clearly depict patriarchal arrangements within party structures, where women are continued to be considered political liabilities.The distribution of women candidates across constituencies is also revealing. In 21 of Delhi’s seventy seats, which is thirty percent of the total, there was not a single woman candidate, neither party affiliated nor independent. Across twenty constituencies, only one woman contested and one won. This systemic exclusion from political competition raises serious concerns about the structural barriers that continue to limit women’s access to legislative and executive roles. This consistent underrepresentation of women in candidate selection provides a broader reflection of the inherent patriarchy of political institutions in the country. .Women get one-third seats in legislative bodies, equivalent horizontal reservation in Scheduled Caste and Tribe seats.Much celebrated once, the Women’s Reservation Bill remains in a limboNearing the close of his second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet passed the Women’s Reservation Bill, a landmark legislation aimed at reserving one-third of seats in the Parliament, state assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly for women. The bill presented the opportunity for a historic shift toward gender parity in Indian politics, with both the BJP and Congress initially competing to claim credit for initiating this long-overdue reform. But, the firm belief in its immediate implementation remains absent. The electoral outcomes following its passage reveal the gap between legislative promises and political action.The 2024 Lok Sabha elections, held after the bill’s passage, saw only 74 women elected to the 18th Lok Sabha—just 13.6 percent of the total seats. This marked a decline from the 17th Lok Sabha, where women occupied 14.4 percent of seats. This number falls significantly short of the promised 33 percent quota, which will only come into effect after the next delimitation exercise, making its actual implementation uncertain in the near future. If major political parties were truly committed to women’s representation, they would have proactively increased the number of women candidates in both national and state elections—including Delhi. .Legally, the promise of a 33 percent reservation for women is now embedded within the constitutional framework, but the timing of its implementation remains uncertain.Delhi elections showed why intersectional representation of women’s legislators is crucialIn the 17th Lok Sabha proceedings, two Members of Parliament (Asaduddin Owaisi and Imtiaz Jaleel from AIMIM) voted against the Women’s Reservation Bill, due to the lack of OBC subcategorisation in the bill. Owaisi argued that the bill, inevitably, would only set aside seats for Savarna women, while women from backward classes and Muslim communities would not benefit under any quota. The Delhi Assembly elections perfectly exemplified this concern. None of the five elected women to the Delhi assembly belonged to a marginalised or minority community. There was no woman victor in any of the twelve seats reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. . Thus, as the Delhi Assembly elections have demonstrated, major political parties continue to struggle with actively considering and presenting women as viable electoral candidates. When they are elected, there is no representation from marginalised communities..Women’s Reservation Bill: A missed opportunity for OBCs and Muslim women.Legally, the promise of a 33 percent reservation for women is now embedded within the constitutional framework, but the timing of its implementation remains uncertain, tied to the yet-to-be-determined delimitation process. The effectiveness of the law will ultimately depend on political will—whether parties genuinely commit to ensuring representation beyond tokenism. Unless systemic barriers such as internal party biases, financial constraints, and patriarchal gatekeeping are addressed, women’s political participation will remain largely symbolic.For gender parity in Indian politics to transition for law to life, it would be essential to improve women’s qualitative representation in electoral politics - by candidate selection processes, actively promoting women in leadership roles, and ensuring that marginalized women are not excluded from the structures of power.

Despite a woman Chief Minister, the Delhi elections firmly establish the immediacy of the Women’s Reservation Bill

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