Number of women candidates declines in Assam

Guwahati

Women candidates in Assam’s Assembly elections are becoming fewer, according to official data.

From a high of 91 candidates in 2016, the number has dropped to 59 for the April 9 elections—just four more than the 55 fielded in 2001.

Assembly Elections updates on March 29, 2026

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), women constitutes 8.17% of the 722 candidates in the fray for Mandate 2026. This appears marginally higher than the 8.03% fielded in 2021, but the absolute number was higher then—76 women out of 946 candidates.

Women accounted for 8.55% of 1,064 candidates fielded in 2016, but the proportion of candidates was slightly higher—8.66% of 981 candidates—in 2011, when 85 women were fielded. The rate of increase in the number of women candidates in 2011 was 21.43% over the 70 fielded in 2006.

Since then, the number has fallen steadily, decreasing by 16.48% from 91 in 2016 to 76 in 2021, and further by 22.37% to 59 for this year.

“By fielding the most candidates (14) this time, the Congress has demonstrated it is more inclusive than the BJP. In fact, we replaced a male candidate with a woman in the Haflong constituency,” a State Congress spokesperson said.

Nirmal Langthasa had originally been named the Congress candidate for the reserved Haflong seat, but the party nominated Nandita Garlosa a day after she crossed over from the BJP. Ms. Garlosa had won the seat for the BJP in 2021 and served as a Minister.

The BJP, which has fielded seven women candidates, the same as in 2021, defended its decision. “Our focus is on finding the right candidates, whose chances of victory are high,” party spokesperson Rupam Goswami said.

Worrying trend

“The downward trend in the nomination of women is worrisome when we celebrate the fact that they often outnumber men in voting. It shows that women, who are handed out temporary benefits, are instruments to achieve political goals,” Anurita P. Hazarika of North East Network, a women’s rights organisation, told The Hindu on Sunday.

Ms. Hazarika is a member of the team that drafted the Feminist Manifesto for Mandate 2026. A key demand in the manifesto is the creation of a comprehensive State policy or framework for women in Assam that ensures coordinated and accountable action across government departments.

“The ECI data indicate that we are not able to give recognition to women’s leadership. More importantly, we are not investing in removing patriarchal barriers and creating enabling conditions for their leadership to blossom,” she said.

Others, however, argued that the decrease was proportionate to the gradual dip in the total number of candidates. At 722, Assam recorded the lowest number of candidates since the controversial 1983 election, when 471 candidates contested during the peak of the anti-foreigners Assam Agitation.

The highest number—1,657 candidates—was fielded in 1991, the year the BJP entered the 126-member Assam Assembly, winning 10 seats.