• The role of women in Indian politics has long intrigued researchers, particularly due to the striking contrast between the emergence of prominent female leaders and the generally low levels of political involvement among women. While many nations saw the gender gap in political participation begin to close in the 1990s, India experienced this change much later, around the 2010s.
• Debates about women’s political roles often emphasize societal and cultural obstacles that limit their success in elections, yet little focus is given to how ordinary women interact with the voting process when given the chance.
• Their voting behavior, preferences, and influence on election results remain largely unexamined. Moreover, while political parties and women’s advocacy groups often praise female voters during election periods, they tend to view them as a uniform group, ignoring how factors like caste, class, religion, and geography shape their political actions.
• Examples such as women’s backing of Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. elections or their involvement in India’s 1990s riots reveal the intricate nature of women’s political participation, calling for deeper exploration.
• By analyzing how women cast their votes and whether their decisions stem primarily from gender or other social factors

Passive Recipients or Decision-Makers?

• As noted, women’s voting participation surged significantly in the 2010s, prompting political parties to target them with tailored policies and programs. However, these efforts often cast women as mere recipients of benefits rather than active political players.
• Welfare schemes like Ujjwala and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were key to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 2019 parliamentary win, while initiatives such as ‘Ladli Behna’ and ‘Ladli Laxmi’ bolstered its success in Madhya Pradesh. Such programs tend to portray women as reliant on political generosity, rather than as independent actors in the democratic process.

Beyond the Ballot

• The uptick in women’s voter turnout during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is significant, but political engagement extends beyond voting to include activities like attending rallies, joining campaigns, affiliating with parties, and advocating for policies.
• In these areas, women continue to trail men. Although only 14% of women say they consult their spouses about voting—suggesting increasing independence—this figure is still notably higher than for men, hinting at persistent social and structural constraints on broader political involvement.
• Some scholars attribute the rise in women’s voting to a “self-empowerment” theory, linking it to growing literacy and job opportunities that enable independent decision-making. The Election Commission’s push to register more female voters may also play a role. 
• Additionally, the gender imbalance in voter registration persists, with fewer women enrolled compared to men.
• Another possible factor behind higher female turnout could be the widespread migration of men, particularly in states seen as socially and economically lagging, leaving women to dominate local voting. These patterns suggest that while turnout has risen, women’s deeper political engagement remains constrained.

Interplay of Identities

• Women’s voting choices in India are not solely tied to gender but are heavily influenced by regional, caste, and class factors. NES data show that state-specific political and social dynamics strongly affect electoral preferences, challenging the notion of a cohesive women’s voting bloc across India. Instead, women’s decisions are shaped by their broader community affiliations.
• This complexity is evident in state-level differences. In places like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal, where regional parties dominate, women’s voting often aligns with local movements rather than national gender trends.
• Caste and class add further layers: the BJP typically attracts urban, upper-class, and upper-caste voters, while Congress garners support from the urban poor and marginalized groups. Still, many women, especially from lower-income backgrounds, prioritize community interests over a unified gender agenda.

Party Preferences Among Women

• Historically, Congress has enjoyed stronger support from women than men, a trend that held in 2024, except during its 2014 nationwide slump. Left-leaning parties also once had a gender edge, though their waning influence has reduced this impact.
• The BJP, however, has generally faced a gender gap, with fewer women than men supporting it. This gap, once over 20%, shrank to about 7% in 2024, thanks to the party’s focused efforts to woo female voters—though much of this support comes from welfare recipients, and men still back the BJP more than women do.
• Regional differences add nuance. In some states not governed by the BJP, women outpaced men in supporting the party, even without a surge in female turnout. Elsewhere, women leaned toward opposition parties, creating an inconsistent gender divide.
• This indicates that while the BJP has gained ground among women, their voting preferences hinge on more than just gender, reflecting a mix of intersecting identities and local political climates.

Key Observations

• Data from past elections reveal three main trends in women’s political role in India. First, while their voter turnout has climbed, their participation beyond voting lags behind men’s. Second, gender alone doesn’t dictate their voting or political involvement—caste, class, and regional factors are equally critical.
• Third, despite outreach efforts, the BJP has historically struggled to win over women as much as men.
• These findings suggest that a distinct women’s voting constituency in Indian politics remains elusive, as their electoral behavior is deeply tied to broader social and political dynamic

The Election Commission (EC) has called upon political parties to deliberate on ways to enhance the electoral system, following claims of electoral roll tampering in the recent assembly elections and concerns about duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers across various states.

Legal Framework

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  Under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution, the EC is entrusted with overseeing, directing, and managing the preparation of electoral rolls and the execution of elections to Parliament and state legislatures.
• The process of compiling electoral rolls is regulated by the Representation of the People Act, 1950, along with the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
• The method of voting has evolved significantly since India’s first general election in 1952. Initially, in 1952 and 1957, voters placed blank ballots into separate boxes marked with candidates’ symbols. From the third election in 1962, ballots featuring candidates’ names and symbols were introduced.
• Since the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been universally adopted, and since 2019, these have been supplemented by Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in all constituencies.

Challenges

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  Several concerns have emerged regarding the voting and counting processes. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a return to paper ballots was rejected by the Supreme Court in April 2024. The same PIL also requested full verification of VVPAT slips against EVM counts—currently limited to five machines per assembly segment—which the court declined.
• However, it permitted engineers from EVM manufacturers to inspect the burnt memory of microcontrollers in 5% of EVMs per segment if tampering is suspected, upon written request from candidates finishing second or third within seven days of results being announced.
• Additionally, accusations of electoral roll manipulation surfaced before the Maharashtra and Delhi assembly elections, with opposition parties claiming fake voters were added to favor the ruling party.
• Another issue involves identical EPIC numbers appearing across states like West Bengal, Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab, prompting allegations from parties like the Trinamool Congress of fraudulent voter inclusion. The EC attributed this to a previously decentralized EPIC allocation system, now replaced by the centralized ERONET platform, and emphasized that voters can only cast ballots at their designated polling stations.
• Beyond voting issues, campaign-related problems persist. Prominent campaigners frequently use offensive language, exploit caste or communal sentiments, and level baseless accusations.
• Candidates across major parties often exceed expenditure limits, while party spending remains unregulated. Estimates suggest political parties spent nearly ₹1,00,000 crore during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, fostering corruption. Additionally, a 2024 report by the Association of Democratic Reforms revealed that 46% of elected MPs (251 out of 543) face criminal cases, with 31% accused of serious crimes like rape and murder.

Proposed Reforms

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  The Supreme Court has affirmed that free and fair elections are integral to the Constitution’s basic structure. To strengthen the voting and counting process, the sample size for EVM-VVPAT verification should be scientifically determined by dividing states into regions, with full VVPAT counts triggered by any discrepancy.
• The EC’s 2016 proposal for ‘totaliser’ machines to aggregate votes from 14 EVMs could enhance voter anonymity. Candidates should also leverage the Supreme Court’s provision to verify 5% of EVMs if tampering is suspected, addressing concerns or dispelling doubts.
• To tackle fake voters and duplicate EPIC numbers, linking Aadhaar with EPIC cards could be explored after stakeholder consultations and privacy assurances, while the EC eliminates duplicate entries nationwide.
• In campaigns, the EC should gain authority to strip ‘Star Campaigner’ status for serious Model Code of Conduct (MCC) breaches and penalize parties under the Symbols Order.
• Election laws should cap both candidate and party spending, treating party aid as part of candidate limits. Finally, strict enforcement of public disclosures about criminal records by candidates and parties, via newspapers and electronic media, would empower voters to make informed decisions