13 women set to enter Haryana assembly, highest number ever

For the first time in Haryana, known for its skewed sex ratio, 13 women will enter the state Assembly out of 116 women candidates who contested the polls. BJP, which got the majority, has given the maximum eight women candidates to the 90-member Haryana Assembly.

Congress has three women candidates declared as winners while INLD and HJC have one each. Among the sitting women MLAs who were re-elected include Congress ministers Geeta Bhukkal and Kiran Choudhary, Renuka Bishnoi (HJC-BL), Shakuntla Khatak (Congress) and Kavita Jain (BJP).

Apart from them, other women candidates who have won the election include Santosh Yadav, Seema Trikha, Latika Sharma, Rohita Rewri, Bimla Chaudhary, Prem Lata and Santosh Chauhan Sarwan (all BJP) and Naina Singh Chautala (INLD).

The second highest number of 93 women candidates who contested the Haryana assembly polls was in 1996 and out of them only four were elected. This was followed by 68 in 2005 when 11 women candidates were elected. As many as 49 female candidates contested in 2000 and out of them four were elected.

Among the women who contested the October 15, 2014 Assembly elections, 10 represented the Congress, 16 contested as candidates of the INLD, 15 of the BJP, five of Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) and six as candidates of the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Similarly, 12 women had contested as candidates of the Haryana Lokhit Party, four of Haryana Jan Chetna Party (V), five of Smast Bhartiya Party, two each as candidates of the Bharatiya Sant Mat Party, Haryana Kranti Dal and Sarva Jan Smaj Party (Nand Kishore Chawla).

Apart from these, one each represented Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Rashtrawadi Parivartan Party (LB), Rashtriya Garib Dal and Communist Party of India (Marxist).