Women voters played a key role in Maharashtra outcome. What issues did they prioritise?

When Maharashtra went to the polls on November 20, both the ruling and opposition alliances had promised pro-women policies. The numbers made it clear that women would play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome. Of the 9.7 crore voters registered in the state, 4.6 crore were women.

On polling day, it was obvious that women were determined to make their voices heard. In 15 of Maharashtra’s 288 assembly constituencies, women voters outnumbered men. Of the total number of women registered to vote, 65% had turned out to press the button. This was only 1.6 percentage points lower than the 66.84% figure of the number of registered male voters who came out to vote.

After the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the elections, many observers claimed that a key factor in the result was the introduction of the Ladki Bahin cash transfer scheme under which women with an annual family income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh receive Rs 1,500 per month.

But was that uppermost in the minds of women voters?

Looking at a pre-poll survey by Delhi University’s Centre for Global Studies, data from five of the state’s 36 districts where more women were registered to vote than men suggests that it was not so simple. The districts were Nandurbar, Gondia, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Bhandara.

The women were asked which factors would influence their choices most strongly: party loyalty, issue-based concerns or individual candidates.

The priorities for women across the state were fascinatingly diverse. Though the study was not intended to predict the exact electoral outcome, the preferences of women voters it revealed are still relevant.

Ratnagiri and Gondia emerged as strongly issue-focused: 75% of respondents in Ratnagiri and 70% in Gondia said that they would prioritise issues over individual candidates or party loyalty while they voted.

In Ratnagiri, women respondents showed no preference for individual candidates, reinforcing the district’s issue-centric orientation.

By contrast, 65% of women surveyed in Bhandara said they would place their trust in individual candidates. Sindhudurg offered a unique balance. Equal proportions of respondents (44%) emphasised both issues and individual candidates, indicating a dual focus on broader concerns and candidates’ personal qualities.

Nandurbar stood out for its diverse distribution, where preferences were fairly evenly split between issues (41%), individual candidates (36%), and parties (23%).

Party loyalty was notably subdued across all districts but is lowest in Gondia (10%) and Sindhudurg (12%). Ratnagiri and Nandurbar exhibited moderate alignment with parties.

These figures underline the regional nuances in the behaviour of women voters, shaped by local contexts and varying priorities.

In terms of issues influencing women voters, responses relating to public welfare policies were included in the broader category of development and governance. This concern about the effectiveness of governance and public welfare policies was prominent across districts.

But specific concerns such as unemployment, corruption, women’s empowerment and law and order, varied in significance across regions.

Respondents in both Ratnagiri and Gondia indicated that issue-based voting was important. However, in Ratnagiri, unemployment was marked as more significant, highlighting socio-economic challenges. Gondia, however, had an overwhelming focus on governance, pointing to an alignment with welfare measures over immediate concerns such unemployment.

In Nandurbar, where electoral preferences were split between issues, individuals and parties, women prioritised unemployment (56%), alongside development and governance (22%) and women’s empowerment (22%).

Bhandara, despite candidate-centric preferences, saw development and governance (50%) as a leading concern for women, followed by unemployment (33%) and discrimination against women (17%). This indicates that even in individual candidate-focused districts, governance remains a central priority.

In Sindhudurg, which balanced issue- and individual candidate-based preferences, development and governance (72%) dominated women’s concerns. Law and order (14%) and unemployment (14%) emerged as secondary issues, with the focus being on stability and welfare.

Overall, the data underscores how development and governance remained a unifying theme across districts, even as localised challenges such as unemployment, corruption, and discrimination shaped electoral preferences among women voters.

This dynamic interplay between broader and localised concerns highlights the complex priorities driving women’s voting behaviour

The study of these five districts shows that women voters are prioritising real issues over traditional loyalties, reshaping the way political parties must campaign and strategise. This signals a broader demand for policies and governance structures that address their aspirations.

The impact of women on democracy in Maharashtra and across India is poised to deepen, challenging political players to respond with meaningful, inclusive policies that resonate with their demands.

Abhishek Sharma is a researcher at the Centre for Global Studies and a Master’s candidate at the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Vikas Yadav is a doctoral fellow at the ICSSR and a researcher at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Delhi. Drishti Sah is a researcher at the Centre for Global Studies and a PhD scholar at the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi.