Jharkhand’s “Record” Women Candidates Mask Stark Gap; Deepika Pandey Singh’s Rise Stands Out

At first glance, the headlines about women’s participation in the 2024 Jharkhand Assembly elections often create the impression that political parties have finally begun to close the gap between men and women candidates. For years, electoral politics in the state have remained heavily tilted in towards men, so the language of “record participation” sounded encouraging.

“Record number of women candidates this time in Jharkhand.”

“Women ahead of men in Jharkhand elections.”

But once one looks beyond the headlines and analyses the numbers themselves, the story changes. Out of 1,081 candidates in the election, only 128 were women, which is roughly 11 per cent.

Calling this a record or suggesting that women were ahead of men says more about the expectations we have come to accept than about any real shift on the ground. It also reflects how deeply patriarchal assumptions still shape the way political participation is reported.

Jharkhand has held five Assembly elections since it became a separate state. Over that entire period, the number of women candidates has moved only from 78 in 2005 to 128 in 2024. In the last election, just 12 women made it to the Assembly, which is two more than in 2019, but still we can call it a modest increase.

That said, when the Mahagathbandhan government was formed after the election, there was at least one notable development. Of the four Congress MLAs who entered the cabinet, two were women. Within the limited space available to women in state politics, that was seen as a visible step forward. Yes, both Deepika Pandey Singh and Neha Shilpi Tirkey come from political families, which is something that often invites criticism. Yet, people who have followed Deepika Pandey Singh’s political journey point out that her rise was not sudden. She built her position gradually through years of work on the ground. In Neha Shilpi Tirkey’s case, that kind of long political trajectory is less evident.

Deepika Pandey Singh’s path was different and much longer. It took her more than a decade to reach the positions of MLA and minister. She is widely recognised today as a strong voice in Jharkhand politics. Born in 1976 in Ranchi, she grew up in a politically active family. Her mother, Pratibha Pandey, who once headed the Jharkhand Mahila Congress, played an important role in shaping her early political viewpoint.

She studied geology at St. Xavier’s College in Ranchi, completed an MBA from XISS, and later obtained a law degree as well. She is married to Ratnesh Kumar Singh, whose father, Awadh Bihari Singh, served as Rural Development Minister in the Bihar government and represented Mahagama as MLA four times.

Her political work began with the Youth Congress. She first served as an elected general secretary in the Jharkhand Youth Congress and later became a national secretary. Over the years, she built her presence through organisational work, participation in protests, and regular engagement with women’s issues. Her role in strengthening the Congress organisation in Godda district and her continuous outreach in rural areas helped establish her as a grassroots leader.

After 2014, while serving as district Congress president in Godda, she strengthened herself with the campaign called “gaon-gaon, paon-paon” to develop the party’s presence at the local level. During this time, she walked across the entire Mahagama Assembly constituency. That effort strengthened her claim to the seat, and in 2019, the Congress leadership chose her over sitting MLA Rajesh Ranjan as the party’s candidate. She won her first Assembly election that year. Just ahead of the 2024 elections, she was brought into the cabinet as Agriculture Minister during a reshuffle.

Her political commitment drew wider attention when she began an indefinite fast in support of the victims of the Lalmatia mine accident. After first entering the Assembly in 2019, she was re-elected in 2024 and now serves in Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s cabinet as Minister for Rural Development, Rural Works and Panchayati Raj.

People in Mahagama often say she has remained accessible even after becoming a minister. Soon after being elected MLA in 2019, she staged a protest against her own government over the condition of a damaged road in her constituency.

According to local residents, water remained stagnant on that road throughout the year, making it extremely difficult to travel. While demanding repairs, she sat on the same road in protest and even bathed in the dirty water collected in its potholes. The gesture drew considerable attention, and the road was repaired within two months.

During her six years as MLA, one development that people in Mahagama frequently mention is the construction of a 300-bed hospital in the area. Once completed, it is expected to be the largest hospital in the district.

This article is part of the magazine issue dated May 11, 2026, called 'Khela Hobe? ' about Assembly Elections 2026 and how West Bengal may prove to be the toughest battleground for the Bharatiya Janata Party.