Only 12% Women Candidates In Bihar’s NDA Despite Big Announcements

In Bihar’s ruling NDA coalition, women are central to campaign promises but remain marginalised in actual representation. Despite claims about women’s empowerment, the NDA has fielded only 12.5 per cent female candidates in the 2025 assembly elections.

Take, for instance, Kusum Devi, the sitting BJP MLA from Gopalganj Sadar, whose ticket was abruptly revoked. In her place, the BJP fielded Subhash Singh. Deeply upset, Kusum Devi questioned the BJP’s commitment to women’s respect and empowerment, saying that a party that talks of “nari shakti” (women’s strength) cannot humiliate a woman in this manner.

Similarly, Neha Saifi, a long-time JDU worker, was confident she would get the ticket from West Chouparan (seat no. 9). But the party instead nominated Samriddh Verma, the son of a former MLA. “I was sure I’d get the ticket,” she told Outlook, “but nepotism prevailed. They talk about 33 per cent reservation for women, but in practice, it’s zero. What hurts more than being denied a ticket is that most women who did get one are beneficiaries of political nepotism.”

Both BJP and JDU — the two main NDA partners — are contesting 101 seats each and have selected just 13 women each (12.9 per cent per party). LJP (Ram Vilas) gave tickets to two women out of 29 (6.9 per cent), while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM allotted one or two each, representing similar low percentages.

This limited representation comes despite the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in Parliament in 2023, which promised 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures. Although not yet implemented, most political parties publicly supported it. Still, Bihar’s 243-seat assembly sees only 12.5 per cent women candidates.

Women Lead the Vote, But Not the Representation

The gap between women as voters and as representatives is stark. Women make up 3.5 crore of Bihar’s voters, compared to 3.9 crore men, and they consistently outvote men. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 59.4 per cent of women voted, compared to 53 per cent of men. Yet, political parties fail to translate this electoral strength into political representation.

To woo this crucial constituency, the NDA government launched several women-focused welfare schemes just before the election — including the Chief Minister’s Women Employment Scheme, which promises ₹10,000 financial aid to 75 lakh women. Activists argue that these symbolic gestures cannot replace structural representation.

“They Want Women’s Votes, Not Women in Politics”

Social activist Nivedita Jha remarks, “The truth is that political parties want women’s votes, not women in politics. Nitish Kumar owes much of his success to women voters. He understands their importance, that’s why he announced financial support before the elections. It shows they will use women’s votes but deny them participation.”

She adds that patriarchal dominance persists even within progressive or Left parties. “When the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced, it didn’t promise equality; it capped it at 33 per cent. And even that has been postponed until the 2029 delimitation.”

Representation Shrinking, Not Growing

Ironically, the NDA’s share of women candidates has dropped since 2020. Then, JDU had 22 women (21.8 per cent), BJP had 12 (11.9 per cent), HAM had 1, and VIP had 2. Chirag Paswan’s LJP alone had 22 female candidates out of 135 (16.3 per cent). In total, 370 women contested out of all parties, reflecting a higher share than in 2025.

This time, the numbers are even lower. A BJP spokesperson defended the party’s record, saying, “We’ve sent women to both the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council. Even if we couldn’t ensure 33 per cent in ticket distribution, we’ve tried to make up for it through these nominations.”

Nitish Kumar’s “Women-Friendly” Image vs. Reality

Nitish Kumar’s popularity among women is well documented; he introduced 35 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and launched numerous women-centric programs. Over the past five years, Bihar has announced 9.35 lakh government jobs, with the number projected to rise to 12 lakh by 2025, meaning around 3.27 lakh women will benefit.

Yet, regarding political power, even Nitish’s JDU stands with others in sidelining women. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, only 10 per cent of the NDA's 40 Bihar seats were won by women. BJP nominated no women among its 17 candidates, and the INDIA alliance performed similarly — just six women in 40 seats, with Congress fielding none.

A Nationwide Pattern

This is not limited to Bihar. In Jharkhand’s 81-seat Assembly, NDA (BJP + AJSU + JDU) gave tickets to 15 women, and the INDIA bloc (JMM + Congress + RJD) to 10 — only 18.5per cent and 12.3per cent, respectively. In Maharashtra’s 288 seats, just 10.1 per cent of BJP’s candidates were women; in Delhi’s 70 seats, the figures were 7.1 per cent (BJP) and 12.9 per cent (AAP).

The Larger Question: Why Only Welfare, Not Power?

Divya Gautam, a BITS Pilani researcher contesting from Bihar’s Digha constituency on a CPI(ML) ticket, often raises the question — why is women’s inclusion limited to jobs and welfare schemes, not decision-making? “Why are women absent from key committees, cabinets, and candidate lists?” she asks. “Just like job reservations, there should be mandatory women’s representation in all political committees and party structures. Every party should follow the 33 per cent quota principle in ticket allocation.”

Bihar’s election narrative again highlights the paradox: women are celebrated as voters and symbols of empowerment, yet they are consistently denied real political power. Parties across the spectrum focus on welfare rather than equal participation.

Until women move from being recipients of policy to makers of policy, will Bihar’s politics ever genuinely practice the empowerment it promises, or will it remain content to speak of change without delivering power.