BJP, BJD vie for women vote bank in Odisha 

Ahead of the 2024 general elections, the NDA government is said to have played a strong women-card by passing the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, with an intention to keep its women vote bank intact, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha has also played a similar card by making Pramila Mallik the first woman speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. 

After the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, there is a celebration mood in the BJP camp as the saffron party is counting heavily on women voters to come out with flying colors in the general elections. The party is going to make the bill the fulcrum of its campaign. It has already drawn out a blueprint to send out a message that it is with the women. 

“Yesterday, India completed its responsibility to give the rights to the women who constitute 50 percent of the population. I firmly believe the country will celebrate this with enthusiasm,” said Union Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. 

The ruling BJD has largely been counting on women voters to win elections. To woo these voters, the party has already rolled out several schemes for the self-help groups (SHGs) including the scooter scheme. 

When asked, BJD MLA Debiprasad Mishra said, “It has always been the decision of our Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to empower women. And it is now bearing fruits.”

On the other hand, the Congress said the BJP and the BJD are pulling all their stops only to woo women voters. 

“The BJP and the BJD are doing all these gimmicks to woo women voters. But the Congress will get those votes,” said Congress leader, Santosh Singh Saluja. 

However, political analysts are of the opinion that the passage of the bill would have no or very little impact on the BJD. 

“This would hardly affect the BJD’s woman vote bank. But, the BJP may gain in some pockets,” observed senior journalist, K Ravi.