The Woman Factor: Naveen Ups The Ante

At her first rally in Gujarat on March 12, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi flipped the order of greeting and began her debut speech with “Meri behnon aur mere bhaiyon“. Many missed this gesture. But when BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced from a podium in Kendrapara on March 10 that Odisha will send 33 per cent women to Parliament, everyone took notice.

Two days later, his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee fielded around 41 per cent women candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Not to be left behind, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPPC) president Niranjan patnaik said the grand old party will give tickets to a good number of women. The BJP too is contemplating the same.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Naveen’s announcement, carefully wording his statement to mean only Lok Sabha polls, was no less than a masterstroke and almost trapped the rivals, BJP and Congress, who will be dubbed as opportunists if they now try to match steps only in Odisha.

According to the final voter list, released in January, among the 3.17 crore voters, 1.54 crore are women who will exercise their franchise in the upcoming general elections.

It was also a calculated move by the 72-year-old satrap, keeping in mind the state’s 200 lakh woman population. Reservation for women has been a pet issue for Naveen, who has since long been pushing to provide women their rightful place in the decision-making process.

The winter session of the Odisha Assembly last year, too, had adopted a unanimous resolution to reserve one-third seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women. Naveen then sent BJD delegations out to hold talks with national and regional parties to support it.

This, too, was seen in political circles as an appeasement tactic ahead of the 2019 polls and soon other parties jumped on the bandwagon, even as the Women’s Reservation Bill awaits the Lok Sabha’s nod, despite having been passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

However, it is not a one-off thing for the BJD. The regional party has long been consolidating the women’s vote base, starting with Mission Shakti, Odisha’s flagship self-help group programme, in 2001.

In 2002, Naveen exhibited his propensity to play the women card by sending Sushree Devi and Pramilla Bohidar to the Rajya Sabha. This is was against the backdrop of the UN celebrating 2001 as the International Year of Women’s Empowerment.

In 2011, the Odisha government enhanced reservation for women in Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies to 50 per cent from 33 per cent introduced by his late father and former chief minister of Odisha, Biju Patnaik, in the early 1990s. Naveen said this would encourage them to join the mainstream of the development process.

The year also saw the Chief Minister launching the Mamata scheme, a highly laudable initiative under which which Rs 5000 is paid to six lakh pregnant and lactating women in rural areas every year.

This, too, struck the right chord and in the 2014 election, when over 74 per cent women in Odisha voted, Naveen retained the reins with a thumping majority, winning 117 of the 147 assembly seats and also 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Recently, Naveen announced interest-free loans of up to Rs 3 lakh for women self-help groups in the state. He also distributed financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to six lakh WSHGs as part the state government’s efforts to digitally empower women.

This way, the BJD president has carved a dedicate constituency for himself with six lakh Mission Shakti groups in Odisha.

Women empowerment was also celebrated and felicitated in the state.

During the ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave in November last year, the BJD president gave a standing ovation to Jayanti Ekka, a leading woman entrepreneur from Sundargarh. Giving examples of massive transformation happening in the state, Naveen mentioned Mamta Padiami, who directly told him to raise health service support for women to Rs 7 lakh, under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.

His well-crafted speeches are often scripted to include stories of woman power and empowerment. At a recent youth summit in Bhubaneswar, Naveen spoke about two bravehearts from Kendrapara, Purnima and Sabita, who saved many lives when a boat capsized at night in the crocodile-infested Mahanadi.

Will this continue to reap dividends for Naveen as he seeks the record fifth term in office? We will get to know when the election results are announced on May 23.