Naveen Walks The Talk, Names 33 Percent Women Candidates For Lok Sabha Elections

Bhubaneswar: Cementing his commitment to women empowerment in the real sense, Biju Janata Dal Supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has walked the talk and kept his promise of giving 33 percent tickets to women candidates for the ensuing General elections. The Biju Janata Dal has declared all the candidates for the 21 Lok Sabha seats and among them are seven women who are going to lead the transformation and women empowerment from the front. Like last General Elections, this time also the Biju Janata Dal has made this exemplary decision to show that Odisha leads in women empowerment.

The Biju Janata Dal has announced the candidature of seven women for seven Lok Sabha seats. BJD has announced to field Parineeta Mishra from Bargarh, Ranjita Sahu from Aska, Lekhashri Samantasinghara from Balasore, Manjulata Mandal from Bhadrak, Rajashree Mallick from Jagatsinghpur, Sarmistha Sethi from Jajpur and Kausalya Hikaka from Koraput Lok Sabha constituencies. This time also the party is confident that all the women candidates will win with thumping majority.

When it comes to women empowerment and emancipation, unarguably Odisha’s longest serving Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik is a true champion. His path-breaking initiatives like 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchyati Raj institutions, Resolution seeking 33 per cent reservation in legislative assemblies and Parliament, Women SHG movement called Mission Shakti, Mamata Yojana, girls’ education, hostels for tribal girls, Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana Smart Health Card, land rights for women under Jaga Mission etc have gone a long way in empowering women in Odisha.

In a country like India, the role of women occupies a significant place in the development of the family and the society at large. The changing characteristics of Indian society with a mix of rural and urban order depends much on the women folk. In each and every sphere, be it economy, education, health or welfare, women are at the center and deserve the best of the encouragement so that there is all round development.

During election times, most of the political parties in their manifestos repeatedly speak about women empowerment, but somewhere when it comes to walking the talk, there is a deafening silence. But, for Odisha Chief Minister and his party Biju Janata Dal are always true to their words and sincerely fulfill what they have promised for women empowerment and gender responsive governance in the State, which has been well acknowledged by none other than the United Nations. Naveen kept his promise of giving tickets to 33 percent women in Parliamentary elections in the 2019 elections and this year too. At the national level, the Naveen-led party has been relentlessly striving for 33 per cent reservation in the Lok Sabha by initiating an effort to bringing in a consensus among all political parties of the country.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has said that women empowerment is something that is very close to his heart. According to Naveen, “I have always said and I strongly believe that without the empowerment of our mothers, no society, state or country can ever progress. Women empowerment is not a slogan for us but the mantra of progress and development”.