BHUBANESWAR: Sofia Firdous, 32, of Congress has created history by becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected MLA in the state from the Barabati-Cuttack seat. She defeated BJP candidate and noted gynaecologist Dr Purna Chandra Mahapatra (69) by a margin of 8,001 votes.
Though 141 women have become MLAs in Odisha since 1937, no Muslim woman had won an assembly seat before Sofia, daughter of Mohammed Moquim, former MLA of Barabati-Cuttack.
“As a Muslim woman, I understand I made history. But women’s representation in the assembly is not impressive. Out of 147 MLAs, we have only 11 women members this time. The number should increase. Women should come forward in every field, including politics. Women can see me as a role model. My ideal politician is former chief minister Nandini Satpathy,” said Sofia, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore.
With declared assets worth Rs 3.64 crore, Sofia is the director of a real estate company and president of the Bhubaneswar chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai). She is the first woman to head the Credai chapter. After completing her BTech in civil engineering from KIIT University, she entered the real estate sector at the age of 24.
“I got the ticket to fight the assembly election on April 24, and the poll was held on May 25. I visited each locality and ward to meet voters. People know my father very well. His reputation helped me get a good response from the voters,” she added.
Sofia said people have given her the moniker of ‘smiling MLA’. “I am very cheerful and meet people with a smile. My tagline ‘Cuttack’s daughter, Cuttack’s daughter-in-law’ caught the attention of voters during the election campaign. I did not utter a single word against my opponents. In fact, I have immense respect for Mahapatra because he is my doctor too,” she added.
She had worked for her father as a party worker in the 2014 and 2019 assembly polls. “I learned the art of election campaign and management from him. At that time, I had closely worked with Congress workers by distributing pamphlets and visiting door-to-door to convince voters. Hence, they were comfortable with me. This might have influenced the party brass to give me a ticket,” she added.
On her plan, Sofia said she will complete projects started during her father’s tenure. “There will be an effort from me and others to make Cuttack a sustainable city. We will take initiatives to make Cuttack a filigree hub. We will work on employment generation for youths. I have already sought suggestions from people to develop my constituency,” she added.