Scheme that helped BJP dislodge BJD will be launched on Modi’s birthday – and women in Odisha can’t wait

According to Deputy CM Pravati Parida, as of Saturday, about 50 lakh women had already registered under the scheme.

With its launch fast approaching, seva kendras are swamped with requests to enrol.

“I tried to enrol during the day at two other common service centres but couldn’t because of long queues. I heard enrolment was also done at night at this centre, which is why I came,” Rout tells The Indian Express.

Parida’s has clarified that there was no fixed deadline for enrolment and it would continue “until the last beneficiary submits her applications”.

However, people continue to queue up at the centres, sometimes even choosing to stay overnight to register early next day.

At Sahaspur seva kendra, 33-year-old Aarti Pati hopes to enrol soon. “We know there is no deadline but we’ll lose one instalment if we don’t enrol now. That’s why we have decided to turn up at night,” says Pati.

Through the scheme, the BJP hopes to cover over 1 crore women aged between 21 and 60, with the Mohan Majhi government earmarking `10,000 crore for the purpose. A key electoral promise by the government, the scheme is said to have played a crucial role in dislodging the Naveen Patnaik government by targeting his BJD’s core voter base – women.

The BJD owed a considerable portion of this base to its Mission Shakti scheme, an integrated women empowerment programme that aimed at providing various assistance to women.

According to Jayant Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science at Odisha’s Berhampur University, “Since the promise of the scheme helped BJP dent BJD’s women vote bank, BJP is trying to ensure proper implementation by covering maximum possible beneficiaries.”

Government sources claim that the PM himself will kick off the money transfers by sending it to a select group of beneficiaries on the day of the launch.

But long queues and poor internet connections have been slowing down the enrolment process, and problems such as incomplete Aadhaar details are also cropping up.

“As Aadhaar-based e-KYC is mandatory for enrolment, issues like unclear photographs (affecting facial authentication), biometric failures (fingerprint issues), or OTP challenges (due to mobile number not being linked with Aadhaar) are emerging during e-KYC process of enrolment. Many people are coming up to update their Aadhaar details,” one official says.

At a service centre in Raghunathpur on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Jyotshnarani Mangaraj (44) enrolled after three days of running around. “Huge rush and poor connections were major hurdles but I managed to submit my application because I came in at 5 am,” she says.

BJD leader Pramila Mallik criticised the Majhi government for providing a “meagre” `5,000 for six months. “The BJP in its election manifesto committed that they will give `50,000 to every woman in the state… Besides, the women cannot be self-sufficient with `5,000 assistance,” she tells The Indian Express.

However, women say the scheme would benefit them as much as Mission Shakti. At Raghunathpur seva kendra, 29-year-old Lalita Nayak is waiting to get her Aadhaar linked with her bank account – a mandate under the Yojana. “I’m part of an SHG now under the Mission Shakti programme… and earn `2,000 per month. The Subhadra money will further boost our confidence,” she says.