Sofia pursued General Management from IIM-B

Sofia won from Barabati-Cuttack

Sofia experimented with modelling

Along with the 2024 Lok Sabha Election results, the results for the Odisha Vidhan Sabha results were announced. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to secure a majority by winning 78 of the 147 constituencies in the state. 

The Indian National Congress (INC) will however take solace from the minor inroads they have made. This includes 1 Member of Parliament (MP) and 14 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). It is of particular significance that a Muslim woman candidate emerged successful for the first time. Sofia Firdous scripted history by emerging as the winning candidate from the Barabati-Cuttack constituency with a margin of 8001 votes. 

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32-year-old Sofia is from a family involved in politics. Her father Mohammed Moquim is a senior leader of the INC. After having completed Civil Engineering in the Kalinga University, Sofia pursued a program in General Management from the Indian Institute of Management- Bengaluru (IIM-B). She was selected as the President of the Odisha Real Estate Association in 2023. She also experimented with modelling. 

The Odisha Assembly Election result marks an end of an era as the Naveen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) tasted defeat for the first time in more than 2 decades.