The recently concluded civic body polls was a turning point for minority community in Odisha’s poll history with with voters directly electing a woman from the Muslim community as chairperson of any urban local body for the first time.
The 31-year-old Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib, an independent candidate, won the election to chairperson of Bhadrak Municipality by defeating nearest rival Samita Mishra, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate, by 3,256 votes.
Ms. Habib, a graduate in Master in Business Administration, was not active in politics though her husband and in-laws are known in the local political circle. Her husband Seikh Jahid Habib was vice-president of Bhadrak district BJDl.
