Urmi Bhattacharjee

Guwahati, April 3: In Assam, women are voting in numbers nearly equal to men, and in several constituencies, even outnumbering them. Yet, when it comes to contesting elections, their presence drops sharply. The contrast is difficult to ignore. A growing share of the electorate, but a limited share of representation.

The scale of that shift is visible in the numbers. Assam has close to 2.4–2.5 crore registered voters, with women accounting for roughly half the electorate, nearly matching the ~1.25 crore male voters.  What was once a visible gap has now narrowed to the point of parity.

In parts of the state, the balance has already tipped. Women outnumber men in dozens of assembly constituencies, and in parliamentary seats such as Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Lakhimpur, female voters have crossed male numbers. This is not confined to one region. The trend cuts across Upper Assam, central Assam and parts of the Brahmaputra valley, suggesting a broad-based shift rather than a localised one.

The change is also generational.

Assam has added over 5.7 lakh first-time voters in recent revisions, many of them in the younger age group.  A significant share of this cohort includes young women entering the electorate for the first time, gradually reshaping the composition of voters.

This is not just about registration. It is reflected in participation.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, more than one crore women voted in Assam, slightly higher than male turnout. Across polling phases, women have often matched or exceeded men in turnout, reinforcing a pattern that has been building over multiple election cycles.

Part of this rise is also linked to changes in how elections are conducted. Greater focus on accessibility, including better polling infrastructure, assistance for voters, and targeted outreach, has made participation easier across demographics, including women.

But while participation has expanded, representation has not kept pace.

In the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, only 74 women contested out of 946 candidates, making up less than 8% of the total. The composition of the Assembly reflects a similar imbalance, with women occupying a small share of seats despite forming nearly half the electorate.

The contrast becomes most visible during the election itself.

At polling booths, women stand in long queues, often in numbers that rival or exceed men. But when candidate lists are released, the gap reappears. Across major parties, nominations continue to be dominated by male candidates, with limited space for women.

Political messaging has adapted, but only partially.

Women are now a key focus of campaign strategies, with welfare schemes, financial support programmes and targeted outreach becoming central to political messaging. These efforts recognise women as an important voting bloc. But recognition has not translated into proportional inclusion in candidate selection.

This raises a more fundamental question.

If women are voting in equal, and in some cases greater, numbers than men, why are they not contesting in equal numbers?

The answer lies partly in the structure of political power. Candidate selection processes, access to resources, and party hierarchies continue to favour men. The entry point into politics remains uneven, even as participation in voting becomes more balanced.

That is where Assam’s electoral landscape reveals its contradiction most clearly.

Women are shaping outcomes at the ballot, across regions and across generations.

But their presence still thins out where those outcomes are turned into power.

And until that gap begins to close, the rise of women voters in Assam will remain only part of the story.

Also Read: Congress, AIUDF working together to threaten Assam’s cultural identity: Yogi Adityanath

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