Bhubaneswar: Amid suspense over ticket distribution of Biju Janatadal (BJD) for the upcoming polls, party chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said that 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies would be a humble tribute to the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.
“Gandhiji was a great votary of women empowerment and advocated higher representation for women in legislative bodies. Allocation of 33% seats for women will be a humble tribute to the Father of Nation on his 150th birth anniversary,” the Chief Minister tweeted.
The Chief Minister also took the Twitter route to show his happiness over his West Bengal counterpart after Trinamool Congress allocated around 40 per cent of its party tickets to women candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“Immensely happy to see All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee nominates over one-third women candidates for ensuing Lok Sabha elections 2019,” he tweeted.
Earlier, Patnaik had announced 33 per cent reservation for women in ticket allocation in his party for the Lok Sabha polls.
Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha constituencies, of which BJD had won 20 MP seats in 2014 general elections. The regional party had also won 117 of the state’s 147 assembly seats in the last Assembly polls.
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Ms Kalinga