How Sofia Firdous, Odisha's first Muslim woman MLA, won against all odds

Her win is a spectacular one, not only because she managed to defeat the BJP candidate, 69-year-old Dr Purna Chandra Mahapatra, in an election that saw the saffron party victoriously end BJD's domination in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the 147-member assembly.

It is also because Sofia had just one month to prepare for the election. She was the Congress party’s last-minute choice, as her father, former Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim, MD of real estate firm Metro Group, was disqualified from contesting polls after the Supreme Court convicted him in the Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC) loan fraud case.

It was an unexpected turn of events for Firdous, who had to set aside her career as real estate developer and campaign hard from 6 am till 2 pm in the sweltering heat. And again, she would set out from 5pm to 9 pm everyday. She worked hard since she just had one month to reach out to people.

Assailed by fear that they may not trust her enough to transfer votes meant for her father to her, she focussed hard on door-to-door campaigning.

However, her father's grassroots work also helped her and she triumphed over the renowned gynaecologist Dr Mahapatra by a margin of 8,001 votes.

Referred to as the 'smiling MLA' for her cheerful demeanour, Sofia’s campaign slogan was 'Cuttack's daughter, Cuttack's daughter-in-law'.

Voters also appreciated her style of campaigning for she did not launch any vicious attacks on her opponents, including Mahapatra, who was her own doctor, said media reports.

In interviews with the media, Sofia admitted that having assisted her father in the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections, she had gained valuable experience in campaigning and voter engagement. Her hands-on involvement with party workers and voters probably influenced the Congress party to nominate her.

While helping her father in his electoral campaigns she had closely worked with Congress workers by distributing pamphlets and going door-to-door to convince voters. So, they already knew her and were comfortable with her.

What’s interesting about Sofia's victory is that she will represent the Barabati-Cuttack seat which was held by none other than Odisha's first woman chief minister Nandini Satpathy in 1972.

After her victory, Sofia said that she understands the significance of her victory as a Muslim woman. However, she said that what is worrying is that the overall women's representation in the assembly remains low, with only 11 women out of 147 MLAs making it to the legislative assembly this term.

Sofia told The TOI that she wanted the numbers to increase and urged women to come forward in every field, including politics. "Women can see me as a role model. My ideal politician is former chief minister Nandini Satpathy," she told the national newspaper.

On being a Muslim politician she admitted that she is an "Odia, an Indian and a woman first". She has worked hard for women's empowerment throughout her career and she will continue to do so in politics as well.

"Being a Muslim politician is something I have never given thought to," she added.

Sofia, an alumna of IIM Bangalore, is a civil engineering graduate from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology.

After completing her education she went into the field of real estate. She became the director of a real estate company and, in 2023, was elected as the president of the Bhubaneswar chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai); she is the first woman to hold this position.

Sofia is married to entrepreneur Sheikh Mairajul Hague.

Sofia has plans to transform Cuttack into a sustainable city and a hub for filigree work. She is committed to generating employment for the youth, she says besides looking for ideas from the people to usher in development in her constituency.

This new MLA aspires to follow in the footsteps of the 'Iron lady of Odisha', who is her 'ideal politician'.