In Odisha, BJP eyes Naveen Patnaik’s strongest bastion: women

Among the thousands of tribal women who attended Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s rally at Silisuan in the Keonjhar Assembly segment on May 19 was Purnima Majhi, a native of Kankadajodi and a self-help group (SHG) member, who admitted she had little interest in the high-pitch electioneering.

What drew her to the meeting was the promise made by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in its manifesto to give pension to women members of SHGs over the age of 60.

“I have been voting for the Sankha (the BJD’s election symbol) for the last several years and will continue to do so. All members of our group have also decided to vote for the BJD on May 25. We are happy with the government for its work on SHGs and now are also eligible to avail an interest-free loan up to Rs 3 lakh,” Majhi says.

Miles away in Ganjam’s Subarnapur village in Chikiti Assembly segment, Minati Nayak says she voted for the BJD on May 13, due to the government’s Mission Shakti groups. The Mission Shakti scheme, launched a year after Patnaik came to power in 2001, empowers the SHGs by ensuring interest-free banks loans for economic and livelihood activities.

“Not just me, all the members of our group voted for the BJD. Mission Shakti has given us a chance to live with dignity apart from providing financial assistance. We are no longer confined to kitchens in our home and are self-reliant due to Naveen babu,” she says.

In its sixth consecutive bid for power, if there is one big plank in the BJD’s favour, it is the SHGs, with 70 lakh women members, who have grown into a loyal vote base for the party over the past two decades. The woman support is evident as they outnumber men at BJD rallies and roadshows.

With polling in nearly half the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats of