Despite political parties highlighting welfare schemes and promises aimed at women, Bihar’s Assembly election has recorded the lowest number of female candidates in 15 years.
Only 258 women are contesting compared to 2,357 male candidates.
In terms of party-wise distribution, the Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded the highest number of women — 26 candidates. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has 23, Jan Suraaj 25, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 13, Janata Dal (United) 13, and Congress 5.
With 15 days remaining for the polls, women voters are being seen as a crucial demographic, especially for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The state government recently transferred ₹10,000 each to the bank accounts of 1.25 crore women under the Chief Minister's Women Employment Scheme.
The NDA has focused on women-centric welfare measures, including 35% reservation in police recruitment and 50% in panchayats and local bodies. Low-interest loans for Jeevika Didis, higher allowances for ASHA and Mamata workers, and priority in employment schemes have been key elements of its outreach strategy.
Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan has made its own set of promises to women. It announced that if voted to power, it would regularise all contractual and outsourced employees and make all Jeevika women permanent government employees with a monthly salary of ₹30,000. Its manifesto, Tejashwi Pran, also includes the “Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana,” offering ₹2,500 per month to women for five years starting December 1.
Political parties, when questioned about the low number of female candidates, cited “winnability” as the main reason.
In the previous Assembly election, 26 women MLAs were elected out of 370 contestants – a 7% success rate – while male candidates had a winning rate of about 10%.
Trends show a decline in women’s representation across most parties.
JD(U) had its highest female participation in 2020 with 22 candidates, but saw a drop in 2025. RJD, however, has shown steady growth, from 9 women candidates in 2015 to 23 this year. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party made its debut with 25 women candidates. The BJP’s participation remained stable over the past three elections, while CPI-ML’s numbers fell sharply after 2015. Congress continues to record a downward trend.
In 2020, the BJP’s women candidates had the highest success rate at 69%, with 9 of 13 candidates winning their seats. RJD followed with a 44% success rate, Congress 29%, and JD(U) 27%.