Nearly a third or 58 of the 190 constituencies going to polls in phase 1 and 2 of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls have no women candidates; there are only 237 women among the 2,831 candidates in the fray, according to a report by The Quantum Hub, a public policy research and consulting firm.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, around 9 per cent (726) of candidates were women. Despite their support for 33 per cent representation of women in the Lok Sabha, political parties have not fielded more women in this year’s election.

While the number of women candidates in LS elections has increased over the years, it has never crossed the 1,000-mark so far, notes the report.

Of the 237 women candidates, 92 belong to unrecognised parties, and 87 are independents. National parties have fielded 46 women candidates, while state parties have fielded 12 women candidates in the first two phases.

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Aparajita Bharti, Founding Partner at TQH consulting, said, “The low number of women candidates in this election, too, points to the need for quick implementation of one-third reservation of constituencies for women. Without such affirmative action, it seems impossible to increase women’s representation at all levels of legislatures.”

The nature of competitive politics favours men organically as they are able to spend more time away from their families, have more control over assets and have higher agency in making career decisions. Women need a leg-up to be able to catch up with men in political representation, she added.

Karur constituency in Tamil Nadu leads the way with seven women candidates, one from a national party and six independents. Bangalore North (Karnataka) and Amravati (Maharashtra) follow with six women candidates each.

Bharatpur constituency of Rajasthan has 50 per cent — three out of six — women candidates, followed by Vadakara and Alathur in Kerala with 40 per cent each.

Interestingly, in Vadakara constituency, all four women candidates have the same name, but with different spellings. CPI(M)’s candidate, former health minister KK Shailaja Teacher is up against Sylaja P, Shylaja, and KK Shylaja, the report noted.

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