Battle of inheritance: 5 Odisha women in fray to carry forward family legacy in 2024 polls

Bhubaneswar: Daughters of some prominent politicians will make their electoral debut in the upcoming Assembly polls in Odisha.

The daughters of three well-known Congress leaders—Mohammed Moquim, Devendra Sharma and Bhujabal Majhi—will try their luck for the first time in the 2024 Assembly polls in the state.

Similarly, the daughters of former Congress heavyweight Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra and former legislator Nandini Devi will make their electoral debut on BJP and BJD tickets respectively.

The Congress party has picked Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim’s daughter Sofia Firdous from the same seat for the 2024 Assembly polls following the conviction of the legislator in a loan fraud case.

Sofia, a BTech and MBA degree holder, is the director of a real estate firm. She was elected as the president of CREDAI, Bhubaneswar chapter, last year.

Sofia will take on BJD’s Prakash Behera and BJP’s PC Mahapatra, an eminent doctor, from Barabati-Cuttack Assembly segment.

Debasmita Sharma, the daughter of former MLA Devendra Sharma, has been fielded by the Congress party from Aul Assembly segment in Kendrapara district.

The Congress party has given ticket to Debasmita after her father expressed his inability to fight the polls on health grounds.

Devendra Sharma had been elected to Odisha Assembly from Aul seat on a Congress ticket in 2014.

Debasmita, a trained doctor, has been pitted against BJD nominee and minister Pratap Deb.

Similarly, Lipika Majhi, the daughter of former MLA Bhujabal Majhi, has been nominated by the Congress party to fight the upcoming Assembly polls from Dabugaon seat in Nabarangpur district.

Bhujabal had been elected to Odisha Assembly from Dabugaon thrice in the past.

Lipika, a dentist by profession, had earlier been elected to the Nabarangpur Zilla Parishad.

Upasana Mohapatra, the daughter of late Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, will try her luck from Brahmagiri Assembly seat in Puri district on a BJP ticket in 2024 polls.

Lalatendu Bidyadhar had been elected to Odisha Assembly from Brahmagiri seat thrice in the past.

The ruling BJD has given ticket to Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, the daughter of former MLA Nandini Devi, from Sanakhemundi Assembly seat in Ganjam district.

Nandini Devi had been elected to the Odisha Assembly on a BJD ticket in 2014.

Sulakhyana Gitanjali, the scion of Dharakote royal family and a law degree holder, is now working as the chairperson of Dharakote panchayat Samiti in Ganjam. She will take on sitting MLA Ramesh Jena of Congress in the 2024 Assembly polls.