With Devyani’s win , J&K to have four women MLAs

BJP’s Devyani Rana on Friday broke a new glass ceiling by winning the assembly bypoll from the Nagrota constituency, as Jammu and Kashmir will now have four elected women legislators for the first time.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly had elected three women MLAs in 2008, 2014, and 2024, marking the highest female representation until now.

The share of elected women in the assembly was 3.4 per cent in the 2008 and 2014 polls, when the strength of the House was 87. It dropped marginally to 3.33 per cent when the delimitation exercise in 2022 raised the number of elected seats to 90.

However, Devyani’s decisive win from Nagrota has increased women’s share in the legislature to 4.44 per cent.

The other elected women members of the current assembly are National Conference (NC) leader Sakina Masood Ittoo, who is also a Cabinet minister in the Omar Abdullah government, Shamima Firdous (NC), and Shagun Parihar (BJP).

Ittoo represents the DH Pora assembly segment in the Kulgam district, while Firdous is a three-time MLA from the Habbakadal segment in the city. BJP’s Shagun Parihar is a first-time MLA from the Kishtwar assembly segment.