Odisha: Gender equality elusive as parties play it safe in Sundargarh
ROURKELA: BJD may be a champion of women empowerment but when it comes to Sundargarh district, the ruling party has shied away from fielding female candidates either in the Lok Sabha constituency or the seven Assembly seats under it. BJD’s arch rival BJP has fielded two women candidates for the Assembly elections while the Congress has put up one female nominee.
With the district having a poor track record of women contesting or winning elections, political parties are dragging their feet on fielding female candidates unless strongly convinced of their winning prospects. Political observers said amid tough electoral equations, the BJD refrained from taking any chance. For the Sundargarh LS constituency and six Assembly seats, it has put up all male nominees. The remaining RN Pali is also going to get a male candidate.
In 2019, the BJD fielded Sunita Biswal, daughter of former Congress chief minister Hemanand Biswal, from the prestigious Sundargarh LS seat. But her electoral debut was a debacle as she lost to BJP heavyweight Jual Oram with around 2.23 lakh votes.
Women candidates in the poll fray this time are BJP’s sitting MLA Kusum Tete from Sundargarh Assembly seat and Sebati Nayak from Bonai. Congress has fielded its only female candidate Sudharani Roudia from Sundargarh seat.
While Tete needs no introduction having proved her mettle with a win in 2019, senior BJP leader of Bonai Luthar Oram said Sebati is a member of the party’s state executive committee and former chairperson of Lahunipada panchayat samiti (PS). Oram claimed she is a strong contender in the Bonai Assembly seat.
General secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Raj Kishore Sarangi said Sudharani has adequate experience in grassroots politics and was the Hemgir PS chairperson from 2017 to 2022. With Sudharani in the fray, it is going to be a triangular fight in Sundargarh seat, he added. Since 1951, elections for the Sundargarh LS constituency were held 17 times and Frida Topno was the only woman to win the seat twice for Congress in 1991 and 1996.
While Sundargarh Assembly seat has so far produced two women MLAs, Kusum Tete and another BJP legislator Sushma Naik in 2005, Frida Topno had once contested and won from RN Pali in 1985. Talsara, Rajgangpur, Birmitrapur, Bonai and Rourkela Assembly seats have never seen any woman legislator.
The ruling BJD, which is at the forefront of advocating women reservation, had fielded a good number of female candidates in the panchayat elections in February 2022.