More women MPs in Lok Sabha, but less in Cabinet

This Lok Sabha may have 59 women MPs, the most so far, but when it comes to their appointment as ministers the presence of the fairer sex has decreased by one as compared to the previous Cabinet.

The new ministerial team of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has nine women out of a total of 78 ministers as against ten women in his previous ministry.

However, there is something to cheer as Singh decided to have four women Cabinet ministers, including the elevation of Kumari Selja from the level of Minister of State with independent charge.

Selja, a former Youth Congress president, will be one of the fresh faces in the Cabinet.

The other Cabinet ministers are Ambika Soni and Meira Kumar, both from Congress who were in the previous ministry, and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Last time, there were only two women Cabinet ministers.

Agatha Sangma of NCP will be the youngest in the council of ministers while Preneet Kaur will be a fresh face.

Krishna Tirath, the lone woman MP from north-west Delhi, will be another fresh face in the council of ministers. She will also be the lone woman Minister of State with an independent charge.

D Purandeswari and Panabaka Laksmi, faces in the previous ministry, also figured in the list of women ministers.