Meet Sofia Firdous, Odisha's first Muslim woman MLA
As the first Muslim woman to be elected as an mla in Odisha's history, Sofia Firdous of the congress wrote history. With degrees in both civil engineering and management, Firdous, 32, won the june 4 odisha assembly election, taking the seat from Barabati-Cuttack.
In the Barabati-Cuttack seat, she defeated Purna Chandra Mahapatra of the bjp by a margin of 8,001 votes, with Prakash Chandra Behra of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) placing third.
Sofia Firdous is the daughter of Mohammed Moquim, a prominent congress leader who previously served as a Member of the Legislative from the same seat until being disqualified due to his conviction in a corruption case. The congress then decided to run Firdous for the position.
In the Barabati-Cuttack seat, she defeated Purna Chandra Mahapatra of the bjp by a margin of 8,001 votes, with Prakash Chandra Behra of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) placing third.
Sofia Firdous is the daughter of Mohammed Moquim, a prominent congress leader who previously served as a Member of the Legislative from the same seat until being disqualified due to his conviction in a corruption case. The congress then decided to run Firdous for the position.
The 32-year-old graduated with a degree in civil engineering from KIIT university at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. In 2022, she also finished the indian Institute of Management, Bangalore's (IIM-B) Executive General Management Programme.
Firdous served as director of her father's Metro Builders business before her election debut. She is also connected to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of india (Credai) bhubaneswar unit.
According to Firdous's vote affidavit, which she filed with the election Commission, she is not charged with any crimes. Her obligations are close to Rs 28 lakhs, but her total assets are estimated to be about Rs 5 crore.
Firdous served as director of her father's Metro Builders business before her election debut. She is also connected to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of india (Credai) bhubaneswar unit.
According to Firdous's vote affidavit, which she filed with the election Commission, she is not charged with any crimes. Her obligations are close to Rs 28 lakhs, but her total assets are estimated to be about Rs 5 crore.
Firdous's father, Moquim, defeated BJD candidate Debashish Samantaray by 2,123 votes to win the Barabati-Cuttack seat in the 2019 assembly election.
In september 2022, Moquim was found guilty in a corruption case by the special vigilance judge in Bhubaneswar. He was sentenced to three years of hard jail and fined Rs 50,000. In april 2024, the orissa High court affirmed the conviction.
The BJD administration led by naveen patnaik ruled odisha for 24 years till the bjp took control of the state in the 2024 assembly election by capturing 78 of the 147 seats.
In september 2022, Moquim was found guilty in a corruption case by the special vigilance judge in Bhubaneswar. He was sentenced to three years of hard jail and fined Rs 50,000. In april 2024, the orissa High court affirmed the conviction.
The BJD administration led by naveen patnaik ruled odisha for 24 years till the bjp took control of the state in the 2024 assembly election by capturing 78 of the 147 seats.