The Biju Janata Dal government has always focused on empowering women, according to BJD member Manas Ranjan Mangaraj. He spoke in the Rajya Sabha, endorsing the Women’s Reservation Bill and highlighting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s long-standing demand for its passage. Mangaraj mentioned that in 1992, Biju Patnaik introduced 33% reservation for women in panchayati raj institutions. Under Naveen Patnaik’s leadership, the BJD government increased this reservation to 50% in 2011 for panchayati raj institutions and in 2012 for urban local bodies. In December 2018, a BJD delegation met with 22 political parties to seek support for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
Mangaraj also shared that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJD fielded women candidates for 7 out of the 21 seats in Odisha, with 5 of them emerging victorious. He emphasized that the Odisha government, led by Naveen Patnaik, firmly believes that empowering women is crucial for the progress of society, the state, and the nation.
