TL;DR India has 75 women MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha (2024) as of date, making up about 13.8% of Parliament, which is slightly lower than 78 in 2019 (14.4%). The share of women MPs was the highest ever in the 17^th Lok Sabha. Over the long term, representation has grown from 22 women MPs in 1952 (4.5%) to 75 today, a more than threefold increase in share over seven decades. Progress is uneven. A few states and parties account for a disproportionate share of women MPs, while many regions still elect very few or none. Bloc-wise, the NDA continues to have the highest number of women MPs, but the INDIA bloc saw a sharp rise in 2024, narrowing the gap. Even today, fewer than 1 in 7 MPs is a woman, and fewer than 1 in 10 candidates contesting elections are women.

Context

Representation in Parliament is not just about numbers. It shapes what issues get discussed and whose voices are heard. In April 2026, the government introduced a set of constitutional amendments, including the Delimitation Bill, 2026, aimed at redrawing constituencies, increasing the size of the Lok Sabha, and enabling structural changes in representation, including reserving seats for women.

However, the enabling constitutional amendment required to operationalise these changes did not pass in Parliament, falling short of the required 2/3^rd majority. As a result, the entire reform package, including delimitation-linked women’s reservation, remains on hold.

In simple terms, representation cannot shift significantly until constituency boundaries are redrawn and reservation is implemented through that process.

Who Compiles This Data?
The data comes from the Parliament of India records and the Election Commission of India (ECI) statistical reports. The ECI conducts elections and publishes detailed data on candidates, results, and voter participation, while Parliament maintains official records of elected MPs, including their tenure, party affiliation, and constituency. Together, they provide a complete picture of electoral outcomes and representation trends over time, including gender-wise analysis.

Where can I download Clean & Structured Data on Women in Lok Sabha?

Clean, standardised, and structured datasets on women MPs by term, state, constituency and political party are available on Dataful.

Key Insights

Women’s representation has grown over time, but slowly
In the 1st Lok Sabha (1952), 22 women were elected, making up 4.5% of the House. By 2024, that number rose to 74 women MPs (13.6%). Currently, there are 75 MPs after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s election from the Wayanad bye-election. That is a threefold increase in share, but it has taken more than 70 years to get there.

The growth has not been linear. Representation fell in the 1970s, then recovered through the 1980s and 1990s. The share crossed 10% for the first time in 2009 (59 women MPs, 10.9%). The highest count was recorded in 2019 at 78 MPs (14.4%), followed by a decline to 74 in 2024 (13.6%), a fall of approximately 0.8 percentage points.

At the current pace of change, reaching even 25% representation would take several decades without structural intervention.

Bloc-wise trends show shifting political dynamics

Recent Lok Sabha terms show how alliances shape women’s representation:

• The NDA had the highest number of women MPs across all three recent terms, peaking at 47 in the 17^th Lok Sabha before falling to 37 in 2024, a decline of approximately 21%.

• The INDIA bloc (as per the alliance in 2024) held steady at around 21 women MPs in the 16^th  and 17^th Lok Sabhas, then rose sharply to 34 in 2024, a 60% increase.

• The Others category shrank from 14 to just 3, reflecting broader consolidation of electoral politics into the two major alliances.

Women’s representation is increasingly concentrated within major alliance blocs, with independent and smaller party candidates playing a diminishing role.

A few states dominate women’s representation

The 18^th Lok Sabha shows clear regional concentration. West Bengal alone elected 11 women MPs, the highest of any state. Uttar Pradesh, with 80 total seats, sent only 7 women MPs, which is under 9%. Kerala returned zero women MPs when the election took place in 2024. It now has one woman MP (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) after the Wayanad bye-election.

The distribution of women MPs varies significantly by state and does not correlate simply with the total number of seats a state holds.

Women candidates are still very few
Of approximately 8,300 candidates who contested in 2024, 800 were women, which is under 10%. This means that even before the question of who wins, the range of electable women is structurally limited at the candidate nomination stage.

Independents rarely win, despite high participation
Out of 800, around 300 women contested independently in 2024; none were elected. Party backing remains a near-prerequisite for winning a Lok Sabha seat, for women candidates in particular.

Why Does It Matter?
Women’s representation is not just symbolic. It could affect

• Policy priorities such as health, education and safety

• Representation of grassroots women’s issues

• Diversity in decision-making

The data shows three key things:

• India has improved representation over time, but progress is slow

• Representation is uneven across states and political blocs

• The biggest barrier is not just elections, but low participation at the candidate level

For policymakers, this means focusing on candidate-level inclusion, not just reservation.

Key Numbers (from 1952 to 2024)

• Women MPs over time:
  1952: 22 → 1985: 42 → 2009: 59 → 2019: 78 → 2024: 74

• Share of women MPs
  1952: 4.5% →  2009: 10.9% → 2019: 14.4% → 2024: 13.8%

• Bloc-wise women MPs (recent terms)
  16th Lok Sabha: NDA 35, INDIA 21, Others 12
  17th Lok Sabha: NDA 47, INDIA 21, Others 14
  18th Lok Sabha: NDA 37, INDIA 34, Others 3