The central question examined in this article is whether women’s representation through quotas and subsequent participation in the local governance makes a difference in politics. Based on an empirical study of eight Gram Panchayats in the state of Odisha, the article explores whether the women elected members in decentralised government institutions considerably pronounce and document women’s issues and interests. Further, it outlines the overall political attitude and behaviour towards women’s entry and leadership in local politics. Taking insights from a theoretical review of the concept of representation and the issue of quota for women in government, the article narrates the empirical experiences of the attempts towards feminisation of rural politics and public sphere and engages with the larger debate of the implication of such feminisation to bring out transformation in women’s personal life as well as political life. Contrary to the commonly held belief that seat reservation would bring elitists women to politics, the study observed that three-fourth of the women representatives coming through quotas belong to middle and lower castes of society. Further, the findings highlight that association with political families is a trend as common among women as men, and therefore, it would be wrong to have a simplistic understanding that quotas would result in politically influential families putting their women members of the family as proxies in politics.
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