Only 87 women elected to Haryana Assembly since 1966, no woman CM yet

It is still a man's world in the Haryana Assembly polls, with only 51 women candidates -- most of them either having the backing of a political family or celebrity status -- being fielded by frontline political parties.

Since it was carved out from Punjab in 1966, the state, known for its skewed gender ratio, has sent only 87 women to the assembly. Haryana has never had a woman chief minister.

An analysis of candidates' lists shows that the main opposition Congress has fielded 12 women candidates, the highest among the parties in these elections.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), contesting the elections in an alliance, have fielded 11 women candidates combined while the ruling BJP has named 10 women nominees.

The alliance of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and the Azad Samaj Party (ASP) has named eight women candidates in the 85 seats it is contesting while AAP's list of 90 hopefuls has 10 women.

According to Haryana Vidhan Sabha records, in the