New Delhi, March 9 -- Only 10% of candidates who contested the current Lok Sabha and state/UT assembly elections across India were women, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8. The analysis of 51,708 candidates found that 5,095 were women, while among 4,666 MPs and MLAs across the country, only 464 (10%) are women. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 800 out of 8,360 candidates (9.6%) were women, and 152 out of 543 constituencies (28%) had no women candidates. The report also noted that among the 543 MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha, 74 (14%) are women. The ADR report further highlighted that women candidates remain significantly underrepresented in state assemblies as well. Out of 43,348 candidates analysed in state and UT assembly elections, only 4,295 (10%) were women, and 1,698 out of 4,123 constituencies (41%) had no women candidates at all. Among current assemblies, 390 out of 4,123 MLAs (9%) are women. The report stated that 127 (27%) of 476 sitting women MPs and MLAs analysed have declared criminal cases, including 68 (14%) with serious criminal cases, while 14 (3%) are billionaires, with the average assets per woman MP/MLA standing at Rs.17.30 crore. The report comes amid ongoing debate over the Women's Reservation Bill, officially the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023, which proposes 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Although passed in Parliament in 2023, its implementation is expected only after the next census and delimitation exercise. ADR noted that despite women constituting 662.9 million voters in India, their representation in Parliament remains low, with India ranking 151 out of 185 countries globally in women's parliamentary representation. According to the report, West Bengal has the highest number of women MPs (11) in the 18th Lok Sabha, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra (7 each) and Madhya Pradesh (6), while Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of women MLAs (47), followed by West Bengal (40) and Bihar (29). Among parties, BJP has the highest number of women MPs (31), followed by INC (13) and AITC (11)....