Women quota: BJD may face headwinds during ticket distribution

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Bhubaneswar: With Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik throwing his weight behind building up a national consensus on making a 33 per cent quota for women in parliament and state assemblies, the BJD leadership cannot shy away from implementing its own decision while distributing tickets to party hopefuls ahead of the General Elections in 2019.
Naveen has embarked on a massive buildup in the country with his MPs having made a strong pitch at the all-party meet in Delhi on the eve of the winter session of parliament to keep 33 per cent of seats reserved for women in state assemblies and parliament.
According to political analysts here, charity begins at home. The BJD may have fewer options than carrying out its own decision while distributing tickets for MLA and MP seats. Otherwise, it will be mocked at by the Opposition Congress and the BJP who have supported Naveen’s move in the State Assembly. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also taken up Naveen’s stance on the issue by advising Congress-ruled states to pass resolutions in support of the move.
However, the bigger question that may be privately haunting the party leadership is the fallout t of its implementation. If the decision is carried out, it would mean the party will have to provide tickets to at least 49 women candidates for state assemblies and seven tickets to women for Lok Sabha.
In 2014 polls, the BJD had filed two women for Lok Sabha while 13 women were given tickets to contest assembly seats of whom 10 won their seats. Besides, the party nominated Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh as an MP candidate after the death of her husband. Of the 10 women who were elected to the Assembly, two were given berths in the Council of Ministers.
The decision may not be downhill for the party leadership, especially when it is beset with anti-incumbency currents. Alternatively, the decision may help the leadership stymie anti-incumbency by fielding new women faces.
There is speculation that the party may deny tickets to over 50 MLAs who either have lost their face or have poor organisational strength to see them through. Thus, the decision may help the leadership deny tickets to those MLAs on the alibi of women’s quota. If required, the party may nominate the kin of senior MLAs or MPs.
Commenting on the issue, a BJD leader said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will take a final call on it while BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said it will be premature to say anything about it now.
“The bill is yet to be passed in the Lok Sabha. We will strongly raise the issue in parliament during the current session and seek cooperation from all parties,” Deb said.