“How could I become Mumbai’s Mayor through women reservation in 1997? Only because there was a mandatory woman reservation and my leader Balasaheb Thackeray selected me to lead this city. There must be women reservation in all the elected bodies—be it Lok Sabha, Assembly, Rajya Sabha, or Legislative Council. I welcome it,” said Vishakha Raut, Mumbai’s first woman Mayor elected through the women reservation quota in 1997. As the 33 per cent women’s reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies is set to become a reality from the 2029 general elections onwards, Maharashtra’s women leaders across parties have welcomed the move.
Maharashtra was a pioneering State in implementing women’s reservation. The State’s first women’s policy was introduced in 1994, and 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies—municipalities, municipal corporations, Zilla Parishads, taluka samitis, and gram panchayats—was cleared the same year. The first local body elections after the passage of the legislation were held in 1996-97. Vishakha Raut and several new women leaders emerged from that process. Raut was Mayor of Mumbai in 1997-98 as a Shiv Sena candidate. She has remained active in politics and is currently with Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Known for her studious approach to urban politics, Raut has carved a space for herself in city politics through sustained work.
When Vaishali Satpute first became chairwoman of the Solapur Zilla Parishad (district council) in March 2005, she was 25 years old. Solapur had women’s reservation for the first time that year, and Satpute was elected from the Bhalawali constituency in Pandharpur taluka. A commerce graduate, she was chosen for the chairperson’s post by the late Sudhakar Pant Paricharak, then a stalwart of Maharashtra politics. “It was open women’s reservation. Only because Pant Saheb was there could I get the opportunity at such a young age,” said Satpute.
“Politics has now become so expensive that it is beyond the reach of the common person. Even if Parliament passes the women’s reservation Bill, only women with a strong financial background or political lineage will survive in current politics,” she said. Satpute remains active in politics at the taluka level and is now with the BJP.
Training women to govern
Bhim Raskar, director of the Resource and Support Centre for Development and an adviser to the Mahila Rajsatta Andolan, has been a pioneer in preparing women for elected office. He has trained thousands of elected women over the past three decades in the rules and functioning of local bodies and in how governance can shape their identity as well as their area’s. “Indian women are fast learners. There are hundreds of examples where women have brought a positive change in governance once they took charge. The reserved representation in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies is the fruit of a long battle fought by women across India. It will bring new energy to governance,” Raskar said.
Vishakha Raut was the first woman mayor of Mumbai in 1997, after 33 per cent women’s reservation was approved in Maharashtra for local bodies. | Photo Credit: By special arrangement
Chhaya Chigure was chairwoman of the Latur Zilla Parishad between 2007 and 2010, after the seat was reserved for women. “We won many State-level prizes during those years—the Gadge Baba Swachchhata Award and other similar recognitions. I remain active in politics and work in the Congress,” she said.
Jaya Kurne from Hatkanangale in Kolhapur district is an example of how an opportunity in leadership made her a State-level figure. Kurne became chairwoman of the Hatkanangale taluka samiti in 2007 through reservation and held the post until 2011. She then decided to use her administrative experience for a larger purpose, training elected women across Maharashtra. “I told them about rules, their rights and duties. I started taking seminars on the motto of local bodies, decentralisation of democracy, and similar issues. I am now the State-level coordinator for CORO India and keep travelling across Maharashtra,” Kurne said.
The cost of contesting
As women’s reservation is set to become a reality from 2029 onwards, women leaders across parties see things differently. They have welcomed the move, but they are cautious about the practical challenges.
“When I contested the Zilla Parishad, the total cost of the election was less than Rs.25,000. But in the recent ZP elections [held in February 2026], I heard that people spent Rs.1 crore and more. If that is the cost for the ZP, imagine how much money one would need for the Assembly and the Lok Sabha,” said Satpute.
“You will need a strong political family or finances to contest. Political parties now give tickets based on the winnability of the candidate. And what is winnability? How much the candidate can spend from his or her own pocket,” said Chigure.
Hanmant Mohite, a senior journalist from Sangli in western Maharashtra, pointed out that the rising cost of elections is pushing grassroots workers out. “Huge expenses are the reason we are seeing MLAs’ daughters getting elected to the Zilla Parishad or even the taluka samiti. These posts were once left for party workers. Reservation is a welcome step, but people should ensure that tickets go to women from ordinary backgrounds and not to the wife, daughter, or daughter-in-law of a political leader,” he said.
It is also the case that almost no women in Maharashtra have successfully climbed the ladder from a reserved local body post—a Zilla Parishad or taluka chairwomanship, or a mayoral position—to the State legislature or Parliament on their own strength. Several have contested Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but only those with a prior political background, from either the maternal or the husband’s side, have succeeded in legislative politics.
Maharashtra, where progressive socio-political movements for women’s empowerment began in the late 19th century, has still not had a woman Chief Minister. Pratibha Patil, the country’s first woman President, was from Maharashtra; she had earlier served as Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and as Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Mrinal Gore served as Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. But the State has yet to see a woman in the Chief Minister’s chair.
‘Let women take real decisions’
Kusum Alam, a tribal poetess and former Zilla Parishad member from Gadchiroli (2007 to 2012), is now the national coordinator of the Congress’s tribal cell and in charge of the Telangana Tribal Congress. “Reservation is fine. But let women take decisions—real, consequential decisions. Women should get the real power of decision-making and not remain a rubber stamp. Reservation should bring a transfer of power into women’s hands. Only then will it be meaningful; otherwise it will remain yet another exercise in optics,” she said.
Women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies from 2029 onwards will be a significant gain for the women of India. The question is whether it will become a step towards real empowerment.
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