The Odisha assembly elections are still four years away, yet the state’s political landscape is already witnessing heightened activity — especially around issues concerning women’s safety. Over the past year, there has been a disturbing surge in crimes against women, including a sharp rise in rape and gangrape cases. The most recent tragedy occurred in Balasore, where a college student died by self-immolation after facing sexual harassment.

This case triggered a political storm across the state. The Congress party responded by calling for a statewide bandh. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), despite being the largest opposition party in the assembly, struggled to offer decisive leadership on the issue or channel public outrage effectively.

Growing public sentiment in favour of the Congress was seen during the Samvidhan Bachao rally held in Bhubaneswar on 11 July. The turnout was massive — so much so that even local media, often indifferent to Congress events, could not overlook it.

Herjinder spoke to Bhakta Charan Das, the newly appointed president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee. Excerpts:

Regardless of numbers in the assembly, the Congress seems to have emerged as the principal Opposition on the ground. How did you achieve this?

We were able to mobilise people because the issue we raised was genuine and resonated with the public. While we don’t have many MLAs in the Odisha assembly, what we do have is conviction. Among our limited representation is a single woman MLA (Sofia Firdous) whose sensitivity and understanding of women’s issues has been invaluable.

The situation in Odisha is alarming — cases of rape, including gang-rapes, are rising unabated. These are not just isolated incidents; thousands of women and children have gone missing. We began highlighting these issues from day one.

As soon as I took charge, I hit the ground running — quite literally. I arrived from Delhi and launched the Sankalp Padayatra right from Bhubaneswar airport. Over the next three days, we walked 67........

© National Herald