Express News Service
CHENNAI: Though Tamil Nadu has seen strong female politicians including former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, only about five per cent of those who won the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021 are women. This is a drop from the previous assembly election in 2016, when the State elected 21 women (about nine per cent) into power.
A total of 12 female candidates were voted into power this Assembly elections — seven from the DMK team and five from the AIADMK team. Many of them are incumbent leaders in their respective constituencies or have at least held power previously.
However by demographic, the female voters in the State outnumbered their male counterparts and most parties in the State have advocated for a Women’s Reservation Bill, which mandates 33 per cent female representation in the lower house of the Parliament, Lok Sabha, and in all State Assemblies.