Women win many unreserved panchayat seats, says Centre, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The Union government stated that women constitute 49.7% of elected panchayat representatives nationwide.
• 19 States/UTs have extended 50% reservation for women in local bodies, exceeding the constitutional mandate of 33%.
• Data from 2025 showed that only 10 States/UTs exceeded the prescribed quota for women representatives.
• A recent Centre’s Constitution Amendment Bill to introduce women's reservation in Parliament and Assemblies was defeated.
• There are 24.41 lakh elected panchayat representatives across the country, of whom 12.14 lakh are women.

Detailed Insights:

• The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 mandates a 33% reservation for women in local bodies, aiming to enhance their political participation.
• Despite the reservation policy, some States/UTs like Gujarat, Haryana, and Tripura, failed to meet the 50% quota for women in panchayats in 2025.
• States like Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh meet the 50% quota for women exactly, indicating varying levels of success in implementing the policy.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj does not maintain specific data on women elected to panchayat positions from reserved and unreserved seats.
• The defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill highlights ongoing challenges in expanding women's reservation to higher legislative bodies.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Panchayati Raj: System of local self-government in rural India, responsible for local development.
• Reservation: Policy of reserving seats in government bodies for specific groups, like women.
• Delimitation: The process of redrawing boundaries of constituencies for elections.