GUWAHATI: Women candidates saw limited success in the Assam Assembly elections, with just 7 out of 59 contestants managing to secure victories, highlighting a low strike rate despite a notable presence in the fray.
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Of the seven women candidates who won, four were from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Ajanta Neog from Golaghat, Nilima Devi from Mangaldoi, Rupali Langthasa from Haflong, and Niso Terangpi from Diphu.
The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) saw Sewali Mohilary win from Kokrajhar, while the Indian National Congress (INC)’s Baby Begum emerged victorious from Dhubri. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) also accounted for one woman winner, Diptimoyee Choowdhury from Bongaigaon.
However, several prominent first-time women candidates fell short. Among them was 27-year-old Kunki Choudhury, one of the youngest candidates and a notable Gen Z face, who lost the Guwahati Central seat to BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Gupta by a margin of 61,921 votes. Her candidacy had turned the contest into a generational face-off, positioning youth-driven change against established political experience.
Similarly, Gyanashree Bora was defeated in Mariani by BJP’s Rupjyoti Kurmi, who secured 79,632 votes against Bora’s 52,792, winning by a margin of 26,840 votes.
The number of women candidates in the state Assembly polls has steadily declined over the years, dropping from a peak of 91 in 2016 to 76 in 2021 and further to 59 in the latest election.
In 2016, eight of the 91 women candidates were elected, while the 2011 polls had recorded the highest number of women MLAs, with 14 winners out of 86 contestants.