Assam Assembly Elections 2021 and Women's Representation: A Brief Overview

 The result of the Assam Assembly elections 2021 was announced on 2nd May ending the last month of long suspicion. At the end of the result, an alarming picture once again worried the conscious people. At a time when the emphasis is on equalizing women's representation in the political arena, at a time when there has been a demand for reservation of seats to ensure women's participation in politics, it is very much a matter of concern that the representation of women in the recently announced Assam Assembly elections has come down to 4.7%.

This time the Assam Assembly elections found women's candidates to be much limited compared to men. Out of the total 946 candidates in 126 constituencies, only 74 were female representatives, with a percentage rate of only 7.8%. Out of a total of women candidates, only 6 candidates have won. 

         Theyare AjantaNeog (Golaghat), Nandita Gorlusa(Haflong), Renupoma Rajkhowa (Teok), Suman Haripriya(Hajo), Nandita Das(Boko), and Shivamani Bora(Batadraba) respectively. The number of women representatives was also not satisfactory in the Assam Assembly elections held in 2016 as well. Out of 91 women, only 8 women candidates were selected, with a percentage rate of only 6.3%. Women must play a strong role in every field in the interest of building a progressive society. Priority should be placed on the ideal of equality in achieving the concept of democracy. So we can say that strong women's leadership is essential in the concern of saturating a healthy, strong, and dynamic democracy.

                  A progressive country can precisely be expected when the strong voice of woman representatives representing various social systems of Assam is raised in the Assembly and their leadership is reflected. Women's leadership, their standpoint in Parliament is indispensable and it is a matter of equity and human rights both of which are the mainstay of a democratic society. The wide-ranging representation of women in parliament has an extensive influence on what issues are upraised and how schemes are framed. As a conscious citizen of a democratic country, we would hope that in the coming days, active participation of women in the political arena should also be established, and a renaissance begins in the future.

 

Papori Borah

Dibrugarh University