Bhubaneswar: Even as the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday talked about the need of women’s empowerment in the political realm of the country and State, and, for which he betted big on the contentious topic of reservation for women in State Assemblies and Parliament, a reality check of the 2019 Odisha assembly polls, however, pricks all the rhetoric balloon of political parties.
Sample The Following
Consider the recent 2019 polls. The women voting percentage in Odisha stood higher at 74.98 per cent vis-a-vis over 71 per cent male turnout. Women candidates were in the poll fray in as many as 80 constituencies. But the watch out fact here is a majority of the 27 were independent candidates, all of whom had forfeited deposits.
What is the reason behind? A high order of reluctance on the part of all big political parties in the State, including the ruling BJD, has been the prime factor behind a handful of women contesting elections.
Take the Case of BJD. Despite CM Naveen Patnaik writing to all & sundry regarding 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament & assemblies, the BJD could field only 20 women candidates (out of 147). If the party had walked the talk, then 33 per cent would mean the BJD should have fielded at least 44 women candidates.
No Glory Show By Other Political Parties.
Consider the BJP. Notwithstanding the persistent advocating of women participation in nation building by PM Narendra Modi, Odisha BJP could field only 11 women candidates.
The Status of the Grand Old Party (GOP), Indian National Congress: The GOP boasts of having a women president (Sonia Gandhi) and giving India its first women PM (Indira Gandhi). But Odisha Congress could field only 13 women candidates in 2019 elections.
2019 Vs 2014
However, to be fair to all political parties, the fielding of women candidates by mainstream political parties in Odisha did post an improvement in 2019 as compared to the 2014 polls.
In 2014 Assembly Elections: BJD had fielded 14, BJP 11 and Congress 8 women candidates, respectively.
Women Voter Behaviour In Odisha
A reality check on the voting pattern of women voters tells a bigger tale. Though women contested in as many as 80 seats, only 14 could make it into the State Assembly in 2019. Later, one more women candidates made it into the State Assembly in the bye election to the Bijepur Assembly seat relinquished by CM Naveen Patnaik. The State Assembly has now 15 women legislators.
Proportionately seen, women legislators in Odisha assembly stood at 10.2 per cent of the total legislators. In 2014, the ratio in Odisha assembly was 7 per cent female legislators to 93 per cent male law makers. Overall, the representation count has gone up marginally by nearly 3 per cent in 2019.
The total contestants in Odisha State Assembly elections 2019 were a whopping 1,137. Out of that the total women contestants were 113, which is a mere 9.9 per cent.
Despite the women voters constituting nearly half of the electorate, many prominent women leaders had to bite the dust in their poll battle against male candidates.
*Take the Case of BJP: its prominent face Radha Rani Panda tasted defeat at the hands of Kishore Mohanty (BJD) in Brajarajnagar.
*Similar, is the case with BJP women stalwarts: Pravati Parida ( Nimapara) & Surama Padhy ( Ranpur). Even, well known actress Aparajita Mohanty couldn’t script a ballot box hit from BBSR North.
*BJD performance despite Naveen’ s Tide: BJD stalwarts also faced Waterloo at the hands of men.
*Rasheswari Panigrahi( Sambalpur) lost to BJP’ s Jaya Narayan Mishra
*Royal heiress of Paralakhemundi Kalyani Gajpati lost to male BJP candidate.
Odisha Vs Other States
Nationally, Odisha stood at 15th among 32 states & UTs. BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) states put up a good show. Bihar has 11 per cent women legislators, when the total contestants were around 10 per cent. The national capital territory, Delhi, where dole outs were given to lure women voters recently, has around 11 per cent female legislators.
However, Odisha is ahead of progressive states like Kerala and Karnataka, where the women legislators constituted only around 6.4per cent and 7 per cent of the total legislators, respectively.