BJD announces 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha polls

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today announced 33 percent reservation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Party supremo Naveen Patnaik made this big announcement during the Mission Shakti convention in Kendrapara.

“Kendrapara is the Karma Bhoomi of Biju Bahu. In the 1990s, Biju Babu showed the way to the entire nation. it is he who for the first time in India implemented 33 percent reservation for women in the three tier Panchayati Raj Institutions and government jobs. In 2012, your government enhanced it to 50 percent in PRIs. Taking the move forward last year, your government for the first time passed a resolution in the Odisha State Legislative Assembly to provide 33 percent reservation for women in both the Parliament and State Legislatures. I have also sent a proposal to all the national parties and chief ministers in this regard. I would like to announce here at Kendrapara, the Karma Bhoomi of legendary Biju Babu that Odisha will send 33 percent women to Parliament in the coming election. The women of Odisha will lead the way in women empowerment in India. If India is to lead the world, if India is to be an advanced nation like America and China, then women empowerment is the only answer,” Patnaik said in his address to the huge gathering.

“I call upon all the national parties that they should be true to their words, and must follow what they are propagating for women empowerment. This announcement at Kendrapara, the sacred land of Lord Baladevjew will create history in the journey of women empowerment in India,” Patnaik added.

With this announcement, BJD is likely to field around 8 candidates in the ensuing polls to the lower house in the parliament.

Around 2 lakh women from Self Help Groups (SHGs) had congregated at Siddha Mahapurusha Ground located in Baro village under Kendrapara tehsil.