Who Is Sofia Firdous? First Female Muslim MLA In Odisha Assembly

Sofia Firdous was elected as the first Muslim woman MLA to the Odisha State Assembly on June 4, from the Barabati-Cuttack constituency. The 32-year-old Congress candidate defeated Purna Chandra Mahapatra of the Bharatiya Janata Party by a margin of 8,001 votes. Firdous comes from a political lineage and made her electoral debut in this Legislative Assembly election. She contested the seat after her father, former MLA Mohammed Moquim, was disqualified following a conviction in a corruption case. 

Real Estate, Management, Politics

Sofia Firdous has made history as the first Muslim woman MLA in Odisha politics. She holds an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar. Later, she complete an Executive General Management Program at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).

Firdous started her career in 2013 as the Director of her father’s infrastructure firm Metro Group. She is also a part of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI). She made an entry into the political arena this year and reportedly had only 30 days to prepare for the Odisha Assembly elections.

Speaking to NDTV, she said, "I am not a politician. When my father was unable to contest the elections, a large gathering of 400-500 supporters convened at our residence. Recognising the hard work and solid base my father had established in Cuttack, they unanimously endorsed me to step into the fray." She was earlier actively campaigning for her father.

After her historic victory in the Assembly election, Firdous asserted, "I am an Odia, an Indian and a woman first. Throughout my career and professional life in real estate, I have worked hard for women's empowerment and I will continue to do so in politics as well. Being a Muslim politician is something I have never given thought to."

According to the poll affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India, Firdous does not face any criminal charges. Her total assets stand at around ₹5 crore, and she has liabilities of nearly ₹28 lakhs. Her father Mohammed Moquimwas convicted in a corruption case in September 2022, according to India Today.

A special vigilance judge in Bhubaneswar convicted the former Barabati-Cuttack MLA and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him ₹50,000 in connection. The Orissa High Court upheld the conviction in April 2024. In 2019, Moquimwas was elected to the Barabati-Cuttack seat by 2,123 votes against BJD’s Debashish Samantara.