A Muslim woman has been elected as the chairperson of any urban local body for the first time in the recently concluded civic body polls, which was a turning point for the minority communities in Odisha’s poll history.
Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib, (31) is an independent candidate, who won the election to the chairperson of Bhadrak Municipality by defeating nearest rival Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Samita Mishra, by 3,256 votes.
According to The Hindu, Habib, who is a graduate in Master in Business Administration, was not active in politics through her husband Seikh Jahid Habib, and her in-laws are known in the local political circle. Her husband was vice-president of Bhadrak district BJDl.
In Bhadrak, where the Muslim community has a sizeable population, there was a demand for fielding a person from the minority community as a candidate for civic body chairperson. Ms. Habib became the unanimous choice as the post was reserved for women.
Ms. Habib did not have smooth sailing as Bhadrak has a history of communal tensions. The soon be sworn as chairperson of Bhadrak Municipal Corporation, Ms. Habib told The Hindu, “During my campaign, I had not come across any reservation in minds of voters towards Muslim woman candidate. People treated me like their daughter irrespective of the community they belong to.”
This was the first time a Muslim woman was the first choice of voters to lead a town, though Muslim women had won direct elections for posts of councilors or ward members, according to reports.
Muslims constitute less than 3% of Odisha’s population. Though members of the Muslim community have become Cabinet Ministers in the State, there has been very little representation of minority community in the State’s politics.
