Many political analysts opine that while most political parties recognize the emergence of women as a voting bloc who can swing elections, offering them poll sops, a similar commitment seems to be lacking when it comes to giving tickets to women candidates. Election Commission of India (ECI) data shows that only six women have been elected to the Lok Sabha from Haryana since the states creation in November 1966.   With election in Haryana slated for May 25, all the major political parties and regional leaders are engaged in designing their poll campaigns and manifestos to woo voters, especially the womenfolk. According to ECIs data, womens vote percentages in many electoral jurisdictions are more than men so no leader can leave womens issues out of their narrative. Employment, healthcare, education, safety, aspirations, and the financial empowerment of women occupy a large space in the manifestos of all the political parties.   Following a deep-rooted history of honour killings, female foeticide, and early marriages, inquiry into the question of women representation in the states politics becomes inevitable. Women representation in Haryana has always been a cause of concern given the states history of bias. Many regional, as well as national political parties, have repeatedly vowed to ensure greater women representation. However, the same has not been carried out effectively.   Political analysts opine that the low number of tickets for women candidates seems to stem from a strong belief that their winnability is also low, especially if the opposing party puts up a male candidate for the same seat. If a group is not represented proportionally in the political system, its ability to influence policy-making is limited. So discrimination against women must be eliminated in political and public life, they opine.   BJP has recently declared a list of its six candidates out of 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. This Party has dropped sitting MP Sunita Duggal from Sirsa parliamentary constituency but fielded Banto Kataria, wife of late Ratan Lal Kataria as a candidate from Ambala reserved Lok Sabha seat. Other political parties are yet to declare their candidates.   Political analysts further opine that the reason for increasing poll promises for women is the increasing voter turnout of women over the years. During 10 years of government at the Centre, BJP has taken several measures and initiatives including Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, One Stop Centre, and Universalization of Women Helplines among others for women empowerment. The saffron party is claiming to take further initiative for the welfare of women in the country.   Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also announced five Mahila Nyay guarantees, including Rs one lakh annually for the poor women and 50 percent reservation in government jobs if the party voted to power.   Six women Furthermore, of Haryanas six women MPs to date, Chandrawati was elected from Bhiwani, Sudha Yadav from Mahendragarh, Shruti Choudhry from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Kailasho Devi from Kurukshetra, Sunita Duggal from Sirsa, and Kumari Selja from Sirsa and later Ambala. Amongst the elected women MPs in the said period, many hailed from affluent political families. Of these six women, Kumari Selja and Shruti Choudhry belong to political dynasties.   Chandrawati was the first woman Lok Sabha MP from Haryana. As a candidate of Janata Party, she defeated Bansi Lal in Bhiwani in 1977. Lal was then Defence Minister in Indira Gandhis cabinet. Born in 1928, Chandrawati was also the first woman to be elected to the state assembly in 1968.   Selja, meanwhile, is the only woman to have been elected to the Lok Sabha from Haryana four times — from Sirsa in 1991 and 1996, and Ambala in 2004 and 2009. A Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, she also served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2014 till 2020.   Besides, Kailasho Devi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kurukshetra in 1998 and 1999 on an Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ticket, BJPs Sudha Yadav from Mahendragarh in 1999, and the Congresss Shruti Choudhry from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh in 2009.   Kailasho Devi was also a college teacher before the INLD — then known as Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) — fielded her from Kurukshetra parliamentary seat in 1998.   Even in the Rajya Sabha, where party leaders have to decide the candidates, only four women have been elected from Haryana to date — Sushma Swaraj (1990-1996), Vidya Beniwal (1990-1996), Sumitra Mahajan (2002-2008), and Kumari Selja (2014-2020).   Voters in six of the states 10 Lok Sabha seats — Karnal, Sonipat, Rohtak, Hisar, Gurgaon, and Faridabad — have never elected a woman MP. Three of these parliamentary constituencies — Sonipat, Rohtak, and Hisar — make up the Jat heartland of Haryana, where disputes are often decided by Khap panchayats. With Haryana being a rural agrarian state where patriarchal norms are more pronounced, the decision-making powers and positions are considered a male domain.   Haryana is progressing in terms of the Gender Inequality Index, Human Development Index, and Gender Development Index, it still remains for women to overcome the barriers of organizational biases, structural prejudices, and political dynasticism. However, things are changing gradually now, and women have now started exercising their powers on their own.

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