• Source:JND
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As Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand, the state’s assembly will also mark a historic milestone. For the first time, 12 women have been elected MLAs, making up 15 per cent of the 81-member house. This is the highest number of women ever in Jharkhand's history, surpassing the previous records of 10 women in the last assembly and 9 in 2009. 

Among them, five elected women legislators are from Congress including Nisat Alam from Pakur, Deepika Pandey Singh from Mahgama, Mamta Devi from Ramgarh, Shwettaa Singh from Bokaro, and Shilpi Neha Tirkey from Mandar. 

The BJP secured four seats with Neera Yadav from Koderma, Manju Kumari from Jamua, Ragini Singh from Jharia, and Purnima Sahu from Jamshedpur (East). Additionally, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) saw three women elected, including Kalpana Murmu Soren from Gandey, Lois Marandi from Jama, and Savita Mahto from Ichagarh. 

Most of these women have experience in politics, but there are also some newcomers, such as Nisat Alam, Purnima Sahu, and Shwetta Singh, who secured their seats by defeating their male counterparts.

Women MLAs in Jharkhand: A Growing Representation

When Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in November 2000, the first Jharkhand Assembly, then part of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, saw a modest presence of women lawmakers with just three women elected to the 81-member house — Kunti Singh, Annapurna Devi, and Aparna Sengupta. 

However, the representation of women in its legislative processes increased with time. In the 2005 elections, the number of women MLAs rose to eight. This momentum continued, with nine women elected in 2014 and 10 women in the 2019 election.