The ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD) on Sunday announced to field woman candidates in 33 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats in the state during the forthcoming polls.
The announcement was made by the Chief Minister and party president Naveen Patnaik at a women’s rally in Kendrapara district. However, no such announcement has been made for assembly seats. Odisha will have simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
“The announcement will create a history in the entire country”, Patnaik said.
The state is having 21 Lok Sabha seats which will go to polls along with 147 assembly constituencies. At present, the BJD is having four members in Parliament – three in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha.
The opposition, however, described the announcement as nothing but an election eve political stunt. “The chief minister announced 33 per cent reservation for women candidates for Lok Sabha seats. He did not announce the same for the state assembly. This demonstrates BJD’s double standard”, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters. The same was echoed by state Congress leaders.
The BJD has been playing the woman card since about a year now. Last year, it had passed a resolution in the state assembly for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament as well as in state assemblies. It had sought the support of all the major national as well as regional political parties across the country in this regards. The regional outfit had also formed several groups consisting of party MPs, MLAs as well as senior leaders to make personal visits to leaders of different political parties to seek their support.
