The Congress on Tuesday expelled from the party three of its Odisha MLAs who had cross-voted to pave the way for a BJP sweep in the Rajya Sabha elections in the eastern state. While the party's X post used the word “expelled”, the Odia notice, translated, said “suspended”. Either way, the leaders face stringent party action.
“Ramesh Jena, MLA of Sana Khemundi; Sofia Firdous, MLA of Barabati Cuttack; and Dasarath Gamango, MLA of Mohahna, have been expelled from the party for defying the party whip and voting for a candidate supported by the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election. Those who betray Congress are betraying the nation," the state Congress handle on X (@INCOdisha) wrote.
The Centre's ruling BJP-led NDA got an edge in Monday's Rajya Sabha polls across 10 states as many opposition MLAs voted for its candidates or those backed by it. In Odisha, state Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das had already told reporters on Monday after the results that the three Congress MLAs “voted in favour of the BJP". The action now follows.
Sofia Firdous, a first-time MLA elected in 2024, had shown disagreement with her party two days before voting for the four RS seats in Odisha — particularly about the Congress' decision to support the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate.
{{/usCountry}}Sofia Firdous, a first-time MLA elected in 2024, had shown disagreement with her party two days before voting for the four RS seats in Odisha — particularly about the Congress' decision to support the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate.
{{/usCountry}}She claimed the party did not consult its MLAs or ask for their consent regarding the candidate choice. According to Firdous, the BJD has historically been the "B-team" of the BJP, supporting the BJP on critical issues such as the Waqf Bill at the Centre.
For the four Rajya Sabha seats, the BJP had fielded two official candidates — state unit president Manmohan Samal and former BJD leader Sujeet Kumar — and they both won as the party being in power in Odisha had the numbers.
In the 147-member assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents, totalling 82.
The BJD has 50 MLAs, though two are currently under suspension, leaving 48 effective votes. The Congress has 14 MLAs, and the CPI(M) has one.
The BJD's Dr Santrupt Mishra was its official candidate, and he won too.
That's three seats. The fight was over the fourth one.
On that, BJP-backed “independent” candidate Dilip Ray, a former Union minister, won against Datteswar Hota, who was a “common candidate” of the BJD with the Congress extending its support.
That's where the cross-voting helped the BJP.
The contest has historic echoes, with the same player at its centre. In 2002, there were five candidates for four seats, and Dilip Ray had won as an Independent against then-ruling BJD. At the time, he got votes from 14 BJD MLAs. Ray replicated that feat 24 years later on March 16.
This was also the first time in over two decades that Naveen Patnaik-led BJD and Congress aligned against the BJP in Odisha, prompting speculation about a longer-term shift in the state's political alignments. When asked about a potential BJD-Congress tie-up, Naveen Patnaik had said: “Time will tell.”
Who is Sofia Firdous?
Born on August 23, 1991, Sofia Firdous holds the distinction of being the first female Muslim MLA in Odisha. Her father, Mohammed Moquim, served as the MLA for the same constituency in the previous term. He could not contest in 2024 as the Odisha High Court disqualified him due to legal cases.
Sofia Firdous did her schooling from St Joseph's Girls High School and Ravenshaw Junior College in Cuttack. She then got a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from KIIT, Bhubaneswar; and later completed an Executive General Management Program from IIM Bangalore in 2022.
Firdous was an entrepreneur before she was a politician, having worked as a director at Metro Group, where she played a key role in real estate and asset development projects.
She is married to businessman Sheikh Merajul Haque.
In her political debut, she defeated the BJP's Purna Chandra Mahapatra by a margin of 8,001 votes. According to her election affidavit, she declared assets worth ₹5.24 crore.