BJD launches 'Nari Adhikar Abhiyan' to press BJP on Women's Reservation Bill
Synopsis
The BJD is turning the Women's Reservation Bill into a political battleground in Odisha, launching a 15-day statewide campaign to accuse the BJP of deliberately stalling a law it publicly championed. With the delimitation clause keeping the 2023 bill in limbo, the Opposition sees a credible opening — and a chance to reconnect with women voters it lost in 2024.
Key Takeaways
BJD announced the "Nari Adhikar Abhiyan" on 1 May 2025 , to run from 10 May to 25 May across all Odisha constituencies.
The campaign targets BJP 's alleged failure to implement the Women's Reservation Bill passed in September 2023 .
Senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik accused BJP of linking the bill to delimitation to indefinitely delay implementation.
All major parties, including BJD, had supported the Women's Reservation Bill when it was passed in Parliament.
The BJD lost power in Odisha in the 2024 assembly elections and is now rebuilding its Opposition identity.
The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha on 1 May 2025 announced the launch of the "Nari Adhikar Abhiyan" (Women's Rights Campaign), a statewide outreach drive scheduled from 10 May to 25 May across all constituencies, targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its alleged failure to implement the Women's Reservation Bill passed in 2023.
What the Campaign Entails
The announcement was made at a press conference at the BJD party headquarters in Bhubaneswar. The party said the campaign will cover every constituency in the state, with the stated aim of exposing what it describes as the BJP's "anti-women mindset." BJD leaders accused the ruling party of using the Women's Reservation Bill as a political tool rather than pursuing its implementation in earnest.
What BJD Leaders Said
Senior BJD leader and Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik led the charge at the press conference, stating that the BJP convened a special session of Parliament to pass the Women's Reservation Bill but deliberately linked it to the Delimitation Bill — a move she said effectively stalled implementation. "The delaying tactics of the Bharatiya Janata Party in implementing the already passed Women's Reservation Bill have now been exposed before the public," Mallik said.
She further alleged that following the bill's defeat in Parliament, the BJP has been holding special sessions in state assemblies to level "false allegations" against Opposition parties, projecting them as anti-women. "The Bharatiya Janata Party is the only party that does not want to implement the Women's Reservation Bill until there is an increase in seats in Parliament and state assemblies. This reflects its male-dominated and anti-women mindset," Mallik added.
The Women's Reservation Bill: Background
The Women's Reservation Bill, which reserves 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women, was passed by Parliament in September 2023 during a special session. However, the legislation includes a clause tying its implementation to the completion of delimitation — a process that has no fixed timeline. Critics, including the BJD, argue this effectively renders the bill dormant for the foreseeable future. Notably, all major political parties, including the BJD, voted in favour of the bill at the time of its passage.
Political Context in Odisha
The BJD, which governed Odisha for over two decades under Naveen Patnaik, lost power to the BJP in the 2024 state assembly elections. The party is now in Opposition and has been seeking to rebuild its political identity, particularly among women voters — a constituency it had cultivated through welfare schemes during its tenure. The Nari Adhikar Abhiyan appears to be a calculated effort to reclaim that ground. This comes amid a broader national debate on the pace of women's political representation in India, where women currently hold roughly 15% of Lok Sabha seats.
What Happens Next
The BJD's campaign is set to run for 15 days beginning 10 May, with constituency-level events planned across Odisha. The BJP is yet to formally respond to the BJD's allegations. Whether the campaign translates into sustained political pressure or remains a short-term mobilisation effort will depend on the party's organisational strength in the post-2024 landscape.
Point of View
Just as the BJP did, making the current framing of BJP as uniquely anti-women harder to sustain under scrutiny. The real issue — the delimitation clause that effectively defers implementation — is a legislative design flaw that Parliament collectively enabled. For the BJD, however, the campaign is less about legislative nuance and more about reclaiming women voters after a bruising 2024 defeat. Whether that works depends on whether Odisha's women see the bill's delay as a BJP failure specifically, or a systemic political failure broadly.
NationPress
1 May 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 'Nari Adhikar Abhiyan' announced by BJD?
It is a statewide Women's Rights Campaign launched by the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, scheduled from 10 May to 25 May 2025 across all constituencies. The campaign aims to highlight the BJP's alleged failure to implement the Women's Reservation Bill passed in 2023.
Why has the Women's Reservation Bill not been implemented yet?
The Women's Reservation Bill, passed in September 2023, includes a clause linking its implementation to the completion of delimitation — a redrawing of constituency boundaries that has no fixed timeline. Critics argue this clause effectively puts the bill on hold indefinitely.
What did BJD's Pramila Mallik say about the BJP?
Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik alleged that the BJP linked the Women's Reservation Bill to the Delimitation Bill to stall its implementation, and is now holding state assembly sessions to falsely brand Opposition parties as anti-women. She called this a reflection of BJP's "male-dominated and anti-women mindset."
Did BJD support the Women's Reservation Bill when it was passed?
Yes. BJD, along with all major political parties in India, supported the Women's Reservation Bill when it was passed in Parliament in September 2023. The party says it continues to support the bill and is demanding its immediate implementation.
Why is BJD launching this campaign now?
The BJD is in Opposition in Odisha after losing the 2024 state assembly elections to the BJP. The campaign is seen as an effort to rebuild the party's political identity and reconnect with women voters, a key constituency the BJD had cultivated during its over two decades in power.
