A civil engineer with an IIM degree, 32-year-old Sofia Firdaus created history last week by becoming the first Muslim woman to enter the Odisha Assembly, a feat she prefers to downplay. “I am a proud Odia, proud Indian first and a daughter of Cuttack. Coincidentally, you can say that I am a Muslim,” Firdous told News18 in an interview.
The daughter of Congress’s outgoing Cuttack Barabati MLA Mohammad Moquim, Firdous contested from the same constituency and trounced BJP’s Dr Purna Chandra Mahapatra by 8,001 votes and BJD’s Prakash Chandra Behera by 13,304 votes in her debut election.
Edited excerpts:
What made you take the political plunge?
I have been closely associated with politics as my father, Moukim, was the MLA from 2019 to 2024. He was heading the Congress party in Cuttack as the district Congress president since 2009. He lost an election in 2014. So, I have been closely connected to elections and political people since 2014. I have done several door-to-door campaigns. My father was the first MLA to release a report card. He distributed the report card to everybody and asked people to see the work done in the last five years and vote accordingly.
Unfortunately, he could not fight the elections because of a Supreme Court case. Many people from our Congress family, well-wishers and friends of my father, unanimously said I should step in at this moment. The workers wanted that the legacy and work done in Cuttack should go on. That’s how I had to step in at the last moment. I never thought that I will get so much affection and blessings from the people. I am extremely overwhelmed. It’s a very big responsibility.
How do you plan on fulfilling the aspirations of your own Assembly constituency?
For nearly 10 years, Cuttack did not witness any development. They won the seat and they were not seen for the next five years. People got irritated and they voted for a person who has been with them. Our USP is that we have been very much accessible, our office is always open to people, we go to different wards and lot of work has been done in the last five years. Also, my father had sanctioned lots of funds as an MLA for Cuttack — for drains, kalyan mandap, auditorium, sports center. So my responsibility is to ensure that whatever work has started should be completed soon.
As I am young and a woman, the youth and women also have a lot of expectations from me. We also look forward to having a big filigree hub in Cuttack because Cuttack is known as the ‘silver city’. Silver filigree achieved the GI tag last year and that was also due to the efforts of my father. Now that we have got the GI tag, we will build a big hub here so that it gets exported to lots of places and people get employment.
Then come the youth. Youth want skilling here. There is a skill centre in Bhubaneswar. The skill centre should be developed in every important district so that people here acquire skills. We will ensure availability of land for better colleges. For women, we will ensure that good teachers are available in schools, access is given to girl students in colleges, and skilling is done.
Sports is also a major agenda. Cuttack was initially the sports capital of Odisha. We have the famous Barabati stadium here. The renovation has already been sanctioned. We will ensure that it becomes a world-class stadium and the indoor stadium is also revamped.
I am also the co-chair of the Indian Green Building Council, Bhubaneswar Chapter. I have already spoken to them. We will start the process to make Cuttack a sustainable city.
How do you see your presence in the Odisha Assembly as the first-ever female Muslim MLA? You will always be remembered for that.
I would, in fact, like to be remembered as a “daughter of Cuttack”. Because I have always been a very, very proud Odia. Even before joining politics, I promoted our Odia culture, our Odia festivals, our food and attire very extensively among our people. I am a proud Odia, proud Indian first and a daughter of Cuttack. Coincidentally, you can say that I am a Muslim. Coincidentally, because there has been no other Muslim. And therefore, this was highlighted and made news.
How did you deal with competition from the BJD and BJP?
We were fighting for the “swabiman” (self-respect) of Cuttack. BJD candidate Prakash Chandra Behera is an outsider from Salepur, while I am from Cuttack, a ‘Katakiya’. People did not want an outsider here. The BJP candidate, Purna Chandra Mahapatra, is a very renowned doctor. He is also my doctor. I go regularly to be treated by him. But we really need him as a doctor. He has a very unique hand when it comes to treating people. He is already doing great service. In that way, people also thought that he is a great doctor and they need an MLA who can work for them, who is always available, and, as far as availability is concerned, my father has been very available and accessible. People trusted my father and because I am his daughter, they trusted me to take his legacy forward.
How do you see your future in politics?
As I have just stepped into direct politics, my current focus is completely on my constituency. People should get their rights and work should get done. Once people get the confidence that I can do better and take bigger responsibilities, then I will be open for bigger responsibilities.
There was a lot of comparison with the former and only woman chief minister of Odisha, the late Nandini Satpathy. She was also from Cuttack. She was born in Cuttack and became the CM of Odisha. This was 52 years ago. People said it’s been so many years and no woman has come forward to fight. Now, their daughter has stepped forward.
Who do you admire in politics?
I really like the way Priyanka Gandhi speaks. I find her very positive. I have a lot to learn. I have started reading books on Nandini Satpathy ji.
Tell us about your school and college days.
I did my schooling in Cuttack from St Josepth’s Convent School. We have been brought up with every community. Convent means we grew up in a Christian atmosphere – morning prayers, going to church. Cuttack is a city of bhaichara (brotherhood). We have extensively celebrated Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja here. It’s a mixed community that lives with no antagonism towards each other. We share a bond of brotherhood.
After school, I went to Revenshaw College for two years. Then I did my civil engineering from KIIT university. During Covid-19, I got a chance to apply for Executive General Management Programme at IIM-Bangalore. It’s a one year course and I have done that as well.
There is a lot of cynicism in politics. Does that affect you?
The bigger the responsibility, the bigger the challenge. I know that there will be a lot of backlash, there will be a lot of trolls. That happens regularly. I am prepared. I am stepping up and doing my work. I will be positive and will work positively.
Is it true that you had barely a month for campaigning?
I got the ticket to contest on May 24. I had exactly one month in hand for campaigning. In these 30 days, I gave a lot from morning 6am to 2pm in the afternoon in this hot Odisha summer, and then again from 5pm to midnight, we were with people. I have got a lot of acceptance from people in a very short time which is really overwhelming for me as well. I met Rahul Gandhi when he visited Salepur and was on the stage with him. My name was declared a day after that.
