Women’s political participation is an essential dimension of democratic representation, social justice and inclusive governance. In India, the trajectory of women’s political participation has undergone a significant transformation from limited electoral presence to wider participation as voters, candidates, elected representatives and political leaders. The present study examines this transition from representation to leadership in contemporary India, with particular attention to electoral participation, parliamentary representation, grassroots political leadership and institutional reforms. The study is based entirely on secondary data collected from the Election Commission of India (ECI), Parliament of India, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), UN Women and other authoritative institutional sources. The analysis uses descriptive and comparative methods to examine trends over time.1 The 2024 Lok Sabha election provides important evidence of the growing electoral agency of women. According to the Election Commission of India, women constituted 48.62 per cent of registered electors, with 47.63 crore women electors. Female voter turnout was 65.78 per cent, marginally higher than male turnout of 65.55 per cent. However, women’s presence among candidates remained only 9.6 per cent, and 74 women were elected to the 18th Lok Sabha, representing 13.6 per cent of the House. At the grassroots level, the picture is substantially different: more than 14.5 lakh women serve as elected representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions, constituting approximately 46 per cent of elected representatives. The study argues that Indian women are increasingly moving beyond the role of electoral participants towards political leadership and decisionmaking. Nevertheless, substantial gaps remain between numerical representation, substantive participation and effective political power. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, providing for one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies after the constitutionally specified census and delimitation process, represents an important institutional intervention. The paper concludes that the future of women’s political empowerment depends not merely on increasing the number of women in elected institutions but also on strengthening their autonomy, political skills, access to party structures, resources and decisionmaking authority.