Haryana Assembly Election 2024
As the date of Haryana assembly elections approaches, the contest is getting interesting. All parties including Congress and BJP have announced their respective cards. The election nomination process is scheduled for Thursday, after which how many candidates are in the fray. The participation of women in the politics of the so-called male-dominated state of Haryana has not been as high as its population. This time also not all political parties could show enough courage to give tickets to women.
Assembly elections have been held 13 times in the six-decade political history of Haryana, which was separated from Punjab. Assembly elections were held for the first time in 1967 and a total of 575 women have tried their luck from various parties in the 13 elections held since then. Out of these 575 women, only 87 women could become MLAs. At least four women MLAs have been elected in the state while the maximum number of women has been 13. In such a situation, it remains to be seen whether women MLAs will break the record of election this time?
Women in elections for the first time
After the formation of Haryana, when assembly elections were held for the first time in the state in 1967, eight women contested the elections, out of which only four became MLAs. Since then, if we look at the track record of victory of women MLAs in the state, they have reached double digits only twice. Apart from this, the number of women MLAs has been in single digits in 11 elections. If we talk about the last five assembly elections, 402 women contested the assembly elections. Out of which 46 won and reached the house.
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Track record of women MLAs
In the year 1967, 8 women contested elections out of which four became MLAs. After this, 12 women tried their luck in the 1968 assembly elections, out of which 7 women won. In the 1972 assembly elections, 13 women candidates contested, out of which only 4 became MLAs. In 1977, 20 women contested the elections, of which only 4 could win. 27 women tried their luck in the 1982 assembly elections, out of which 7 became women MLAs. In the 1987 elections, 35 women contested and 5 won.
Involvement from 1991 to 2019
In the 1991 assembly elections, 41 women contested, of which only six became MLAs. In 1996, the number of women contesting elections decreased and only seven women contested, four of whom became MLAs. There were 49 women candidates in the 2000 assembly elections, of which only 4 were able to win. Similarly, in the 2005 assembly elections, there were 60 women candidates, out of which only 11 MLAs were elected. In the 2009 assembly elections, 69 women tried their luck out of which only 9 could win. In 2014, the maximum number of women candidates contested the elections. There were 116 women candidates in this election out of which 13 became MLAs. 108 women tried their luck in the assembly elections held in 2019, out of which 9 managed to become MLAs.
Political parties responsible?
The number of women contesting the Haryana assembly elections increased, but the number of women becoming MLAs did not. Haryana has a total of 90 assembly seats, out of which only 9 women have become MLAs in 2019. In this context, women have only 10 percent representation while they constitute about 47 percent of the state’s population. Out of total 1.97 crore voters in Haryana, 1.05 crore (53.3 per cent) are male and 92.5 lakh (47.7 per cent) are female. From this perspective, the participation of women in the legislature is very low. Political parties are held responsible for the low participation of women because they are not showing big heart in giving tickets.
Haryana’s first woman MLA
Chandrawati was also the first woman MLA of the Haryana Legislative Assembly and the first woman Member of Parliament of Haryana. He was the Lieutenant Governor in 1990. He was the Minister of Haryana in 1964 and 1972. He contested and won his first assembly election in 1954 as a Congress candidate from the Badhra assembly constituency. He contested 13 elections including two Lok Sabha and 11 assembly elections. Won seven elections between them.
Kiran Chaudhary has never lost an election
BJP Rajya Sabha member Kiran Chaudhary is the daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Chaudhary Bansilal. Former MLA Surendra Singh’s wife Kiran Choudhary has won four times including a by-election from Tosham and has reached the Legislative Assembly and has also been a minister. Now he is a Rajya Sabha MP. Left Congress and joined BJP after 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He has not lost a single election after joining politics. This time BJP has fielded his daughter Shruti Chaudhary who was a Congress MP from Talsham seat.
Congress MP Kumari Selja
Veteran Congress leader Kumari Selja is the Dalit face of the party. He is a Lok Sabha MP from Sirsa. Selja started her political journey with Mahila Congress and became its president in 1990. She first became an MP from Sirsa in Haryana in 1991. Since then, apart from being a four-time member of the Lok Sabha, Selja has also been a one-time member of the Rajya Sabha and a three-time minister at the Centre. This time she is seeking a ticket from the Congress to contest the assembly elections. Kumari Selja was made the President of Haryana Pradesh Congress in September 2019. She remained in this post till 20 April 2022. Due to which now she is also considering herself as a contender for the post of Chief Minister.
Geeta scored a hat-trick of victory
Geeta Bhukkal became an MLA from Kalayat assembly constituency for the first time in 2005. Then Congress won this seat for the first time in 37 years. After delimitation in 2009, she came to Jhajjar assembly constituency and by winning the 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections, she became the first MLA to score a hat-trick of victories in Jhajjar. He has also been a minister in the state and has been elected as an MLA four times. Similarly, Jasma Devi, wife of former Haryana Chief Minister Chaudhary Bhajanlal, was an MLA from Adampur in 1987. After this, Renuka Bishnoi, wife of Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi, became MLA from Adampur by-election in 2011 and Hansi in 2014.
BJP leader Sudha Yadav
JJP President Ajay Singh Chautala’s wife Naina Chautala, Chief Minister Omprakash Chautala’s son, former Deputy Prime Minister of the country and Haryana CM Chaudhary Devilal have been MLAs. She became MLA from Dabwali in 2014 and won from Badhra in 2019. Veteran BJP leader Sudha Yadav is considered the female face of the party. Sudha Yadav has defeated Rao Indrajit Singh from Mahendragarh seat.
