JEYPORE: The large network of women self-help groups (SHGs) in Koraput district can be a decisive force in swinging fortunes of BJD in the Assembly segments under Koraput Parliamentary constituency.
The district has 23,165 SHGs with over three lakh members spread across Koraput district comprising Jeypore, Koraput, Kotpad, Laxmipur and Potangi Assembly segments.
The ruling party’s Jhina Hikaka had won the Koraput Lok Sabha constituency by defeating Congress’ Giridhar Gomango in 2014 General Elections. The BJD has fielded his wife Kaushalya from the constituency in this election.The party hopes to beat the anti-incumbency factor and other adversarial issues like Kunduli gang rape case by mobilising the SHG members.
To cash in on the SHG vote bank, the Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik had announced a number of sops for SHGs including interest-free loans of up to `3 lakh for women SHGs, `15,000 seed money for new SHGs, `3,000 to purchase smartphones for digital empowerment and setting up of Mission Shakti Gruhas in each block, prior to announcement of the polls.
While BJD Assembly candidates have decided to use Naveen’s sops to draw SHG votes, the Kunduli ‘gang-rape’ and safety of women in the State tops the Opposition’s campaign agenda. Sources said in the last General Elections, a large number of women voters had voted for BJD but things have changed for the ruling party in the last three years following the Kunduli incident that evoked Statewide protests. The incident that took place in 2017 is still fresh in people’s minds and both Congress and BJP are using it as ammunition against the BJD.
Senior BJD leader Bishnu Patra, however, is hopeful that women SHG members in the district would support the party due to the various welfare schemes for women launched by the ruling party.On the other hand, the Opposition parties have also begun to draw up strategy to split the SHG force. The leaders of women’s wing of Congress have already started meeting SHG members making promises of loan waivers for the groups if voted to power. District Congress Committee president Minakhi Bahinipati said women members of the party have launched door-to-door campaigning to woo all woman SHG members.