The number of women MLAs this time is two more than in 2006 when there were 35 of them and only three from Trinamool Congress.
When Mamata Banerjee, set to be the first woman chief minister of West Bengal, walks into the assembly, she will find that men still dominate the house as only 37 of the total 294 MLAs are women.
Banerjee an MP since 1984 has donned the mantle of being the only woman railways minister twice. She will require to enter the house within the stipulated six months time.
She will find solace that of the 37 women 24 are from her own Trinamool Congress. Besides, the number of women MLAs this time is two more than in 2006 when there were 35 of them and only three from Trinamool Congress.
The number of women MLAs this time will be six from her alliance partner Congress, while the Left Front has sent in seven.
The largest number of six women candidates - all of them from Trinamool Congress have been sent to the House from South 24 Parganas district, where the zilla parishad and all the four Parliament seats belong to the party.
The district has returned Mamata's close aide Sonali Guha and also added glamour to the house by sending in Tollywood star and national award winner Debashree Roy.
Right behind is Kolkata and North 24 Parganas, which have elected four women each belonging to Banerjee's party. North 24 Parganas returned four out of the five Trinamool Congress women candidates.
Banerjee will find her party veterans Sashi Panja, at present a mayor-in-council in Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Smita Bakshi in the house among the representatives from Kolkata, where all the 11 seats have gone to the TC kitty.
East Midnapur has elected three women MLAs, all from Trinamool Congress, including from Nandigram which had pitchforked her to the forefront of the movement over land acquisition.
Hoogly has returned two women Trinamool Congress MLAs, while Malda and Nadia have sent in one each.
The Jangalmahal districts, the hotbed of Maoist activities in the state where Banerjee campaigned extensively in peak summer, have not disappointed her sending a candidate each from West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts.
Her alliance partner Congress too has been able to get two of its women candidates elected from West Midnapore and Bankura districts, besides one from Malda and three from Murshidabad.
The number of Left Front women MLAs have plunged in line with the fate of the Front with their number standing at only seven this time compared to 27 in 2006.
Jalpaiguri has elected two LF women candidates, one from RSP and one from CPI(M) this time, besides another two from the red citadel of Burdwan district. Both the women MLAs from Burdwan are from CPI(M).
West Midnapore, Bankura and South Dinajpur have sent in one woman LF MLA each.
None from BJP, which contested in all the 294 seats have made it, as is also the case of independents.
Out of the total 1,792 candidates in the fray this time only 177 were women. Of them 41 were fielded by CPI(M), four by All India Forward Bloc and one by RSP.
Trinamool Congress fielded 33 candidates and Congress nine.
BJP had 23 women candidates and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which had no members in the house even last time, had fielded 11 women candidates. The number of independent women candidates was 29.
West Bengal's only woman governor was Padmaja Naidu, daughter of poetess Sarojini Naidu, right after Independence.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}