Govt claims women winning unreserved panchayat seats in ‘significant numbers’

Ahead of the National Panchayati Raj Day on Friday (April 24), the Union Government said the implementation of women’s reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) led to women comprising over 49.7% of all elected panchayat representatives, adding that women were winning in unreserved seats as well in “significant numbers”.

While the Constitution mandates a 33% reservation for women in urban and rural local bodies, 19 States and union territories have extended this provision to reserve 50% seats for women. However, most recently available government data submitted to Parliament in 2025 showed that the number of women representatives exceeded the prescribed quota in just 10 States/union territories and by about 0 to 5 percentage points. Further, four States/union territories did not meet the quota, while five others have just enough women to meet the prescribed reservation percentage.