The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) might have swept the just lately concluded civic polls in Odishahowever one in all its defining moments was the election of the primary Muslim lady because the chairperson of an area physique within the state.
The story of this history-making election within the city of Bhadrak turns into much more outstanding when one components in that the winner is a 31-year-old Independent candidate who bested the ruling get together’s nominee. The seat was reserved for girls this yr after the delimitation course of and went to Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib, who defeated the BJD’s Samita Mishra by 3,256 votes.
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Habib, who’s a Business Administration graduate and an expert information entry operator, attributes her victory to folks’s belief and the mutual objective of Bhadrak’s improvement. She claims to be a political novice however comes from a household with a political pedigree. Her husband, Sheikh Jahid Habib, is the BJD’s district vice chairman.
“My uncle, aunts…they’re all energetic within the political sphere for the final 30 years. My maternal uncle was a councillor and my maternal aunt was elected as vice-chairman a few years in the past. I even married right into a politically energetic household. So it was not possible to be indifferent from politics as such however I had by no means in my wildest creativeness thought that I might contest an election and even win it,” Habib tells The Indian Express over the cellphone.
Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib (Express picture)
The 31-year-old is a resident of the city’s Purana Bazaar space, which consists of half of the municipality’s 30 wards. In the run-up to the polls, there was a robust demand to appoint a Purana Bazaar resident as locals allege that the realm is ignored and left to its destiny each time.
“I was born here and the place has not changed a bit. There has been no development in the area at all, be it roads or drainage…none of it has come to this part of the town,” Habib says.
After the BJD didn’t nominate a candidate from Purana Bazaar, she determined to contest as an Independent. “I was reluctant initially since this was new for me. But people here know my family well and everyone insisted that I take this up. Their trust and cooperation throughout the journey, from filing the nomination to the counting day, ensured my win,” Habib says.
Of the city’s 1.21-lakh populace, 40 per cent are Muslims. It has witnessed two main riots up to now — one in 1991 within the lead-up to the Ramjanmabhoomi motion and once more in 2017.
“I had the support of the people of Bhadrak, irrespective of religion,” says Habib. “It is silly to suppose that I received with the help of just one group. Nobody handled me any totally different. My brothers from the Hindu group campaigned for me, took to the stage to ask for votes. And I’ll work for everybody.”
Asked about her aims, the brand new chairperson says she desires to “work on ground issues” and make sure the total improvement of the city.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
