BHUBANESWAR: Renewing efforts towards achieving the ‘Mission 120 in Odisha’ target in the next elections, the BJP has now set its eyes on the powerful woman votebank. A shift in BJP’s strategy is on the cards to woo women voters and break the BJD’s hold on them. Buoyed by the Bihar election results, where women voters turned the polls decisively for the NDA, the saffron party is looking to replicate it in Odisha.
Women have been the ruling party’s support base, who have stood solidly behind Naveen Patnaik in every election.
However, the BJP will double its efforts towards attracting women voters to its fold by not only promoting and popularising Modi government’s women-oriented schemes and programmes but also taking the fight to the BJD government on women’s safety issues. Party Odisha in-charge D Purandeswari, who is on a three-day visit to the State, met district level office-bearers here on Friday in batches throughout the day to discuss strategy to make BJP the number one party in Odisha.
Addressing a meeting of the district level office-bearers, Purandeswari stressed on the ‘Mo Booth Sabuthu Majbut’ programme to strengthen the party at the grassroots level. She asked the party leaders to focus more on issues concerning the common man like the Nayagarh minor girl murder, the large number of missing children from Odisha and growing crimes against women to corner the ruling BJD.
Purandeswari asked the party leaders to go to the people and launch agitation at the grassroots level instead of only criticising the government by giving statements.President of the State Mahila Morcha Prabhati Parida announced that the Mahila Morcha will fight for women’s security in the State because of the growing crime against them. “Apart from women, we will fight for the farmers and others in the society”, she said.
Reflecting the changed stand of the party, Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Chandra Sarangi said that women are now getting attracted towards the BJP as the party under the vision of PM Narendra Modi is working for them. “The new in-charge has given us a new mantra to expose the Odisha government’s corruption. The party workers will certainly work hard as per the changed strategy” BJP State general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said.
Focus on farmers
The BJP on Thursday came down heavily on the State government for neglecting the development of farmers in its two decades of rule. Other than passing resolutions in Assembly, it has not been able to ensure that farmers sell their produce at MSP fixed by the Centre, Odisha president of BJP Kishan Morcha Pradip Purohit said.