CUTTACK: With enthusiasm writ large on her face, Cuttack’s Minati Patnaik is all set to begin a new chapter in her life. This time, as a politician.
The 64-year-old resident of Sutahat, who had come to limelight in 2021 for donating her house and jewellery - worth over Rs 1 crore - to a rickshaw puller, on Friday filed her nomination for contesting as Samruddha Odisha candidate for Cuttack Parliamentary constituency. She is gearing up to start her campaign across all the Assembly segments on Sunday.
Loneliness, she said, prompted her to contribute to society and think of politics as a medium to do so. In 2020, she lost her husband to kidney failure and a few months later in 2021, her only daughter succumbed to cardiac arrest. With no other family member by her side, it was Budha Samal - who had been taking her around Cuttack in his rickshaw since 1994 - and his wife and three children who took care of the elderly woman.
“Budha and his family are the reason I am living happily today. They were my support system when I lost everything. I legally donated my house and jewellery as a little gift for their service towards my family,” she said.
After her noble initiative made headlines, many more people from poor socioeconomic backgrounds from across Cuttack district approached Minati for help in cash and kind. And, the latter obliged every time. This kept her engaged. But to reach out to a bigger audience, she needed political representation and this is when she decided to approach BJP ahead of the twin elections.
However, as she could not connect to anyone in the saffron party to seek a ticket, Minati decided to enter the poll fray as an Independent contender. Recently, though, members of Samruddha Odisha approached her with a ticket from Cuttack and she agreed. The party was floated by Jatish Chandra Mohanty, a 1979-batch Odia IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, who quit bureaucracy to enter politics.
Minati now wants to contribute to fulfil Mohanty’s dream, at least in Cuttack district. Pitted against heavyweights like BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab and BJD’s Santrupt Misra, she wants to give this political opportunity her best. Her campaign strategy, she said, includes reaching out to every family at the grassroots in all the seven Assembly segments and collecting people’s grievances.
Her main poll planks are migration, employment and livelihood issues. “I will use all my might and my remaining resources to meet every family under the constituency before the elections. If I win, I will ensure all their grievances pertaining to land and employment are resolved on priority basis,” she said.
Although a political greenhorn, Minati claimed she is not unaware of Odisha politics. “I have wanted to be a part of state politics since my college days to help people who were never mapped to any of the government’s schemes. But that dream could never take off because of my marriage and family responsibilities,” said Minati, happy with finally receiving the opportunity in her 60s.
Budha and his sons, on the other hand, have decided to stand by her during the campaign.