It was the early 1950s. India, a young nation, was preparing for its first general election. The Constitution had given every adult the right to vote, regardless of gender, caste, wealth or education.
Around 28 lakh women were left out of the electoral rolls for the first general election in 1951-52. When nearly 28 lakh women refused to provide their names, Sen struck them off the electoral rolls. After the 1951–52 elections , he launched a massive cleanup drive.
There was, however, one rule that Sukumar Sen, India’s first Chief Election Commissioner , was unwilling to compromise on: a woman had to be registered in her own name. He declared that every voter must register under her own individual name. A relative’s name was not enough. He insisted that women must exist on paper as citizens, not just as dependents. Historical Election Commission accounts describe this as one of Sen’s most progressive decisions while preparing the first electoral rolls. Sen did not leave those women behind. He instructed election officers to register women by their actual names. He brought political parties and local women’s organisations into the campaign.
The result was a much larger female electorate. That meant multiple ballot boxes could sit at one polling station, one for each candidate. Candidate names, party symbols and other identifying details were displayed on the boxes to help voters, many of whom could not read.
The 1957 election had about 8.9 crore women electors, according to electoral data, compared with about 5.6 crore in 1952.
