The number of women candidates aspiring to step into the Lok Sabha has seen a rising trend over the years from just two women in 1957 to 55 in 2014. Though many women file nomination papers some of them are rejected and a sizeable number withdraw their nominations for various reasons. Historian Geeta says that the increase in number of women candidates in the Lok Sabha could be due to the trend in other fields too as women are willing to get into the public sphere.
She sees this as a welcome trend and these women are mostly from the upper and the middle classes. Another common factor was that more women from political families enter the electoral fray as family support plays a major role when it comes to women aspiring to make it big in politics. Congress National spokesperson Kushboo Sundar said that women are strong mentally and hence more of them should be part of the Parliament to decide on key issues.
