Odisha chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik put his promise of giving greater representation to women in electoral politics into practice on Sunday, announcing hours before the Election Commission declared the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections schedules that his party will reserve 33% of its LS poll tickets for women.

This is the first time any political party in the country has done so; the move is likely to further endear him and his party to women voters. Naveen’s anouncement means BJD will field at least seven women candidates from the 21 parliamentary seats on offer in Odisha.

“Odisha will send 33% women to Parliament in the coming election,” Naveen told a huge congregation of women self-help groups (SHGs) at Kendrapada, 80 km from Bhubaneswar.

Women voters are considered to be the key behind BJD’s electoral success in the past two decades. Of the 3.18 crore voters in the state, over 1.54 crore are women. In 2014, the party had fielded two women candidates — from Jajpur and Keonjhar Lok Sabha seats — while another was elected to the Lower House of Parliament later in the Kandhamal byelection.

Naveen said the announcement would create history in the journey of women’s empowerment in India and the women of Odisha would show the way.

With this decision, Naveen follows in the footsteps of his father, former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik , who had announced 33% reservation for women in panchayat raj institutions (PRIs) and government jobs in the early 1990s.

“If India is to lead the world, if India is to be an advanced nation like America and China, women’s empowerment is the only answer,” Naveen said.

The BJD president was instrumental in the Odisha assembly passing an unanimous resolution on ensuring 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Naveen had himself approached other leaders and had written to PM Narendra Modi seeking his intervention on clearing the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.

The announcement, however, met with derision. “Why did Naveen announce the decision to field 33% women candidates in the LS polls and not for the assembly election?” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked.



In Video: BJD will ensure 33% reservation for women in LS polls: Naveen Patnaik