An Open Letter to Mr.Naveen Patnaik from an Optimistic Odia Woman

Dear Mr.Naveen Patnaik

My name is Pranay Manjari and I am an Odia. Although I am residing in Bangalore for work, my heart beats for my home state Odisha. My entire family continues to live there.

This is a letter to our chief minister from an ordinary citizen. Mr. Naveen Patnaik, you have governed the state for four consecutive terms and claim that your administration has empowered 70 lakh women through the Mission Shakti programme.

I want to begin by congratulating you for taking the lead by giving seven women from your party, the Biju Janta Dal, the opportunity to stand for Lok Sabha elections. Giving women 33% of total tickets to contest elections is
a commendable step. Yours is the second political party who had done this apart from AITC.

This move has been a matter of pride for us Odias living outside the state. The day, you passed the resolution in state assembly to reserve 33% seats for women at both parliament and state assembly; was a historical moment in Indian politics. It created enough noise (positive) at the national and international level. You did not limit your efforts by just passing ordinance; you went a step further by sending your delegates to other political
parties, to urge them to do the same. I am not surprised that United Nations Women recognised this effort and BJD has earned itself an image of being a progressive political party at the international level.

Given all these developments it was logical for me and everyone else in India to assume that you would follow through on your word to give 33% tickets to women in the upcoming state assembly election well. So when you announced in a public rally about 33% tickets to be given to women for the Lok Sabha election but not for the Odisha Vidhan Sabha, I felt apprehensive. That is why I started a petition on change.org platform to remind you to give 33% of seats to women contesting the MLA elections. I felt it was necessary to remind you what the women of Odisha need and want.

Your party the BJD has been ruling in Odisha from the year 2000. It’s been almost twenty years now. Your party claims that in Mission Shakti program, 70 lakh women were supported to be economically independent. While BJD had given opportunity to 8 women in 2009 elections and 15 women in 2014; 2019 saw 19 women were given the opportunity to contest assembly election out of 147 assembly seats.

That is just 13% of total representation for women. This is hugely disappointing for a state in which women make up 50% of the electorate, and even outnumber men in some constituencies and in actual voting. If some
out of these 19 women are not elected, then the actual percentage of women MLAs in the Odisha assembly will drop further. This is what you mean by the political empowerment of women? Don’t we deserve better representation, if not equal? Women voters played a big role in bringing the BJD to power in previous elections. So, why this discrimination to us?

A measly 13% tickets for women to contest the state assembly elections is an embarrassing figure for a party that was appreciated by United Nations! Words cannot express how deeply disappointed I am feeling. Speaking on behalf of millions of Odia women, I would like to know from you why you don’t have women leaders to contest elections and what action you are going take that will ensure at least 49 women leaders (that is the number of seats it will take for 33% representation) are identified/ nurtured to win the election like their male counterparts without reservation.

Waiting in anticipation of your response.
Yours Sincerely,
Pranay Manjari
An Oprimistic Odia Woman who is not willing to give up