L to R : BJP's Smita Wagh, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule and Congress' Varsha Gaikwad.
Credit: PTI, X/@SmitaWagh_
Maharashtra has sent seven women MPs to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls - one less than the record eight of the 2019 general elections.
Maharashtra accounts for 48 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
Across India, 74 women MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha this time which is actually a slight drop from the 78 of 2019.
Maximum 11 women MPs were elected from West Bengal followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which have sent 7 women MPs each.
In Maharashtra, a total of 17 women candidates were fielded by the two coalitions - Maha Yuti (NDA) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A) involving six parties - (BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP) and (Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Congress), respectively.
Of the total 13 seats that Congress won, four were women - Prof Varsha Gaikwad (Mumbai North-Central), Praniti Shinde (Solapur-SC), Shobha Bachhav (Dhule) and Pratibha Dhanorkar (Chandrapur).
From the 8 MPs of NCP (SP), one lady MP was elected Supriya Sule (Baramati).
The other two MPs were from the BJP - Smita Wagh (Jalgaon) and Raksha Khadse (Raver).
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP failed to get any lady member elected.
Incidentally, Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar defeated Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar from the family bastion of Baramati.
Three of the MPs elected are MLAs - Prof Varsha Gaikwad (Dharavi), Pratibha Dhanorkar (Warora) and Praniti Shinde (Solapur City Central).
Two of those elected are sitting MPs - Raksha Khadse and Supriya Sule.
All of these elected hail from political families.
Some sitting women MPs were dropped - BJP’s Poonam Mahajan (Mumbai North-Central), Bhawana Gawali (Yavatmal-Washim) of Shiv Sena and Dr Pritam Munde (Beed) of BJP.
Incidentally Dr Pritam Munde was replaced by her sister Pankaja Munde, who lost the elections.
In Osmanabad, Sunetra Pawar’s step brother Padmasinh Patil’s daughter-in-law Archana Patil, who was fielded against sitting MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, who is with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), lost the polls. Archana Patil is wife of BJP MLA Rana Jagjitsinh Patil. OmRaje and Rana Jagjitsinh are cousins.
In Dindori (ST) seat, Union Minister of State for Health Dr Bharti Pawar who was contesting against Bhaskar Bagare of NCP (SP), lost the polls. Bharti Pawar is daughter-in-law of former minister AT Pawar, who was closely associated with Sharad Pawar.
Past record
1952 - 4
1957 - 3
1962 - 3
1967 - 3
1971 - 2
1977 - 3
1980 - 4
1984 - 4
1989 - 3
1991 - 3
1996 - 2
1998 - 2
1999 - 3
2004 - 6
2009 - 3
2014 - 6
2019 - 8
2024 - 7