Bhubaneswar: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA Government ensured passage of the Women Reservation Bill in both the Houses of the Parliament, claims and counter claims have surfaced in Indian politics. Many state leaders including Biju Janata Dal (BJD) claims that its President Naveen Patnaik has made an immense contribution towards passage of the Bill. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and many others have also made similar claims while BJP is all out to take political mileage out of it ahead of the general elections for the Lok Sabha. Projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “Messiah” of women empowerment in the country, Odisha BJP has announced to launch a campaign in all the 50,000 villages across the state. The aim is obviously to capture the women voters, which remained as a solid vote bank of BJD since its inception in 1997.
And the Odisha’s Governing BJD headed by Naveen Patnaik has reasons to be worried as the rival BJP has been attempting to break its women vote bank. Though the BJP had earlier tried to take a slice from the women votes in the state through Ujjawala Yojana and some other schemes, it failed to attract Odia women, who stood behind Naveen Patnaik for decades. Naveen has also admitted in public that he and his party is indebted to the women for winning five successive elections since 2000. Going forward, Naveen once said that the BJD would serve the people of Odisha for another 100 years as long as it has the blessings of “Mothers” (Women).
This is not all, immediately after the 2019 general elections for Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly results were declared, veteran Congress leader and MLA Suresh Kumar Routray is on record saying that Odia women voted Naveen en-mass even by defying their husbands wishes. Naveen has consolidated the women vote bank over decades by forming women self help groups under the Mission Shakti.
So far, Mission Shakti is a movement in the state and its member number is more than 70 lakhs. The critics also admit that Mission Shakti has changed the face of rural Odisha as its economy now revolves around women. The females who since generations kept them engaged in the household works, now earn at least Rs 5,000 a month and therefore contributing to the family’s economy. Mothers are now controlling things in the family. Thanks to Naveen Patnaik’s Mission Shakti which has made the women self-sufficient. This is not all, Naveen has also taken the Mission Shakti to next level and efforts are on to transform the WSHG members as entrepreneurs. They are given interest free loans and easy credit links. The latest offer to the women was a scooter scheme for the WSHGs.
Therefore, it is often alleged that Naveen engages members of the WSHGs in politics and the rural women campaign for the ruling BJD. It is not just an allegation by the opposition parties, but a reality which was evident in the by-polls at Dhamnagar assembly segment. The WSHG members used to work for BJD and ensure that the party candidates win polls across the state.
Naveen has over the years, also nurtured his women vote bank carefully and ensured that the opposition BJP or the Congress fail to win the hearts of women voters. When BJP decided to field Odisha’s Droupadi Murmu as the President of India, Naveen was the first leader in the country to congratulate her. Naveen rushed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered his party’s support to Shrimati Murmu even though none had sought his support. The BJD workers and leaders cleverly joined the BJP in celebrating Shrimati Murmu’s elevation and even went on calling her as the ‘daught of the soil.” This is not all, the BJD went on raising hoardings and posters across the country, mostly in the north Odisha region, showing Shrimati Murmu tying ‘Rakhi” on Shri Patnaik’s hand. The BJD people went on campaigning that Droupadi was Naveen’s “Rakhi sister” thus mollifying the BJP’s bid to take political mileage from the development.
Naveen also continued to protect its women vote bank and installed a dalit woman leader Pramila Mallik as the state’s ‘First Woman Speaker’ in the Assembly. Pramila’s election as the Speaker came just some hours after Rajya Sabha passed the Women Reservation Bill. The BJD had issued a whip on its MPs to ensure that all of them vote in favour of the Bill. All these actions aimed just one thing- to inform people that BJD is the savior of women and not the BJP. When the WR Act ensured 33 per cent seat reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, BJD Vice-President Debi Prasad Mishra claimed that Naveen had already done it five years ago. The regional party had fielded 33 per cent women candidates in 2019 Lok Sabha elections much ahead of the WR Act. Five of the seven women candidates won the Lok Sabha polls, Shri Mishra pointed out adding that Naveen has also made provision of 50 per cent seat reservation for women in panchayat and urban body elections. Of Odisha’s 31 MPs (21 LS and 10 RS), BJD’s women lawmaker number is 7 while BJP has lone Mahila MP like Sangeeta Singhdeo. “Naveen Ji has created a separate Mission Shakti department and undertaken all measures required for the welfare of the women,” he said.
Now, under the changed circumstances, Shri Mishra said the party has enough confidence in Odisha’s ‘Mother Power’, which will stand by Naveen as they used to do. “Now BJP is telling women that Shri Modi will make them MLAs or MPs. But, Naveen has already done so. For instance Pramila Bisoyi’s election to Aska Lok Sabha seat,” a senior BJD leader said. However, the people of Odisha will wait to see whether BJD continues to get blessings of ‘Mothers’ or BJP takes a share as ‘Mother Power’ will play a major role in 2024 polls, political pundits opine.