On Tuesday, June 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) achieved a decisive victory in the Assembly elections, capturing a majority of votes from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the state elections held between May 13 and June 1. The BJP won 78 of the 147 constituencies, ending Navin Patnaik’s 24-year rule in the state. Additionally, the elections saw a historic win as a Muslim woman candidate secured a seat, becoming the first Muslim woman MLA in Odisha since Independence.
Sofia Firdous won the Barabati-Cuttack seat by a margin of 8,001 votes, following a closely contested race with BJP’s Purna Chandra Mahapatra. Firdous succeeded her father, the sitting MLA Mohammed Moquim, in representing the seat.
In the nationwide Lok Sabha elections, at least 15 Muslim candidates were elected to the lower house. Notably, TMC nominee and former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan won a decisive victory over Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur.
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