Female Lok Sabha MPs from Gujarat

As the nomination filing date for the upcoming elections in the state starts today, Gujarat’s poor record of female representation in the Lok Sabha is set to continue its course this year.

A total of 3,562 candidates have contested the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat since the first elections in 1962. Of these, only around 160 were female candidates.

In this election, the BJP has fielded a total of four female candidates, while Congress has announced the candidature of three so far.

Banaskantha is seen as the only seat this year where both parties have fielded female candidates.

In the previous general elections, the highest ever, six female MPs were elected from Gujarat.

Before the formation of Gujarat state, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s daughter Mani Patel and Zohra Chavda from the Sabarkantha seat reached the Lok Sabha.

In 1992, Jaya Shah from Amreli and Zohra Chavda from Banaskantha achieved victories.

In 1977, Mani Patel was the only female candidate to win the Mehsana seat.

In 1980, not a single female candidate could secure a Lok Sabha seat in the state. And in 1984, Usha Thakkar won the Kutch seat.

Jaya Thakkar was elected from the Vadodara seat for three consecutive terms in 1998, 1999, and 2004.

Notably, two female candidates were elected in 1962, two in 1984, one in 1991, two in 1996, four in 1998, three in 1999, one in 2004, four in 2009, four in 2014, and six in 2019.

On behalf of the Congress, Sushila Mavalankar was elected unopposed from the Ahmedabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1956, when the state was part of the Bombay presidency.

The bye elections for the Ahmedabad seat were held in February 1956, following the death of Sushila’s husband, Ganesh Mavalankar.

It is noteworthy that Ahmedabad West, Gandhinagar, Porbandar, Patan, Panchmahal, Kheda, Bharuch, Valsad, and Navsari seats from Gujarat have never elected a female candidate to the Lok Sabha.

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