Bhubaneswar: Women Self Help Group (SHG) leader and a class-II drop out— Pramila Bisoi – is all set to ensure a seat reserved for women in the 17th Lok Sabha as she is leading over a margin of 1, 60,000 votes till the latest trend.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has nominated her from the Aska seat, from where Naveen Patnaik had started his political career. Naveen Patnaik had won thrice from the Aska Lok Sabha seat, which was earlier held by his father Biju Patnaik.
While announcing the name of Pramila, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik had stated that he has nominated her as a tribute to Mission Shakti, a programme launched by his government for empowerment of women.
Bisoi, a 68-year-old, hails from a peasant’s family and has been a strong voice in the area on a range of issues including women empowerment, forest conservation and availability of potable water.
One of her two sons runs a tea stall at her village, while the other is a garage mechanic. Her two daughters are married and her husband Banchhanidhi Bisoi owns less than one acre of agricultural land.
BJD is repeatedly winning the MP segment since its inception. Naveen won the seat in 1997 from Janata Dal and in 1998 and 1999 from BJD ticket. After that also BJD won the poll in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.