The Odisha government’s decision to reserve the post of Mayor of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for women has triggered a debate. Critics of the move have described it as a political stunt aimed at mobilizing the votes of women in favour of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). They can’t see the general public benefiting in any manner from the decision.
These critics, however, overlook the fact that the woman mayor, irrespective of which party she belongs to, will be directly elected by the people instead of being chosen by the ward councillors as was the practice earlier. This will ensure the election of the best possible candidate, with people directly making the choice on the basis of the candidate’s reputation and her past record. It is important to remember that mayors have been doing an excellent job in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh which have a direct mayoral election system in place.
As far as efficiency is concerned, women have proved that they are no less than men. In fact, most of them in higher positions have surpassed their male counterparts in terms of performance. Their sincerity and commitment to work has never been in doubt.
On the face of it, the decision of the state government should be hailed because it is an important step towards the empowerment of women. The Naveen Patnaik government has an excellent track record on this front. For example, Odisha is among the few states of the country where 50% of the elected seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are reserved for women. Presently, out of the total of 107487 PRI Representatives in the state, 56,627 are women.
While the process of panchayat elections is under way in the state, these polls will be followed by elections to the urban local bodies including NACs, municipalities and municipal corporations. The BMC is the most prestigious among the corporations in the state, and having a woman as their mayor should be a matter of pride for the people of the state capital.
Let us admit that time has come to give women their due. Former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, who was often described as the “first feminist”, was the pioneer in the field of empowerment of women in Odisha. He was the first chief minister to reserve seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) because he realized that real development is impossible without giving members of both genders equal decision-making powers.
Biju Babu, as the late leader was fondly referred to by followers and admirers, had also set a precedent by appointing a tribal woman as one of his advisors. His good work in this field has been carried forward by his son Naveen who went a step forward and raised the reservation level in PRI institutions for women to 50 percent. He is also leading a national campaign for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. Instead of being critical, everyone should be proud of the five-time CM’s genuine efforts to make the women of Odisha truly empowered.
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