Page 53 - General Election
P. 53
15. Number of Contestants and Winners in
General elections 1951-52 to 2019
Since the first general elections held in 1951-52, various interesting outcomes have been
recorded in the electoral history of independent India. The number of contesting candidates has
been constantly increasing since 1951-52 to 2019, showcasing the increasing strength of the
democratic foundation of India.
The total number of seats in Lok Sabha has increased from 498 in the first general elections of
1951-52 to 543 in 2019 general elections. While 1874 contestants participated in the first general
elections, the number of contestants increased to 8054 in 2019 general elections. From 4.67%
in the first general elections, the average number of contestants per seat increased to 14.83% in
2019 general elections. The number of male contestants increased from 1474 in 1951-52 to 7322
in 2019, while the number of female candidates increased from 45 in 1951-52 to 998 in 2019.
With 78 female MPs, 2019 general elections saw the highest number of female members getting
elected to the lower house of parliament since the first general elections.
2019 general elections also witnessed the sensitivity of Indian democracy towards recognizing
social diversity, when candidates from third gender were allowed to contest for seventeenth Lok
Sabha.
51
