Assam Lok Sabha polls: Decline in women candidates but female voters outnumber men

Among the smaller parties, Gana Suraksha Party has given tickets to two women while Hindu Samaj Party, Gana Sangram Parishad, SUCI(C) and Voters Party have given to one each and there are three independents in the fray.

Despite Assam having more women voters, only 12 female candidates are contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, down from the previous count of 14.

These 12 women candidates are competing in seven out of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.

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Assam has a total electorate of 2,45,72,144 with 1,23,39,241 women voters and 1,23,25,293 male voters. This declining trend in women candidates has been continuing since the 2014 polls when there were 16 female aspirants.

The ruling BJP has fielded one woman candidate, Bijuli Kalita Medhi, for the prestigious Guwahati seat, while the Opposition Congress has nominated Mira Borthakur Goswami in Guwahati and Roselina Tirkey in Kaziranga.

Among the smaller parties, Gana Suraksha Party has given tickets to two women while Hindu Samaj Party, Gana Sangram Parishad, SUCI(C) and Voters Party have given to one each and there are three independents in the fray.

Kaziranga leads with three women candidates, followed by two each in Guwahati and Kokrajhar (ST), and one each in Sonitpur, Darrang-Udalguri, Nagaon, Barpeta, and Dhubri.