By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 1, 2019: Setting a precedent for other states in the country, Odisha has elected 30% of the total Lok Sabha makers from the state to the 17th Lok Sabha women.

Of the total 21 lawmakers elected from Odisha in the Lok Sabha polls, five women lawmakers are from Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and two are from the BJP. The BJD had fielded seven women lawmakers.

Incidentally, Odisha is the first state to ensure one third women representation from the state to Lok Sabha. In April, Naveen Patnaik, who took oath as the chief minister of Odisha for a record fifth term on Wednesday after securing a big election win, had announced 33 per cent reservation for women in party tickets.

Naveen Patnaik’s father Biju Patnaik, who served twice the state twice as the chief minister, introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies and panchayats.

Naveen Patnaik took the reservation to 50 per cent.

After taking oath, Naveen also promised to continue to focus on women voters who made sure that he secured an impressive and comfortable majority. He also has said he is going to push for the passage of women’s reservation bill and ensure that there are 33 percent women in parliament.

Among the women lawmakers from the BJD are Chandrani Murmu, a 25-year-old tribal girl who is also an engineer, Rajashree Mallick, a former professor of Pathology, Manjulata Mandal, a homemaker and Sarmistha Sethi, a former officer of the Odisha Financial services.

Former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi and Sangeeta Singh Deo, a royal member of the erstwhile Patnagarh estate, are the women lawmakers from the BJP. Assembly elections were also held in the state simultaneously with the national elections held between April 11 and May 19.

The newly elected parliamentarians and legislators say this is something that the whole country should emulate.

Naveen Patnaik’s decision to hold his oath ceremony outside the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar for the first time has also been significant. He took the decision after a request by thousands of women from self-help groups who he calls his “extended family”.

The women wanted to be a part of the swearing-in ceremony.