Sunanda Das is a Politician in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. She has been the

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Odisha since 2019.

Early life

Sunanda Das was born to Keshab Chandra Das in a

Gopal Gopal may refer to: * Gopal (caste), a social community of Odisha in India * Gopal (Krishna), the infant/child form of Lord Krishna * Gopal Bansa, ancient Kingdom in Nepal * The Gopalas, an early Gaudiya Vaishnava institution * Gandhian Organisati ...

(

Yadav Yadav refers to a grouping of traditionally non-elite, Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern state ...

) family. She did her schooling at Krupasindhu Bidyabhaban, Rampa village, Bari, Jajpur district.

Political career

Sunanda Das has become the first woman to be elected as MLA from Bari Assembly constituency in

Jajpur Jajpur (also known as Jajapur) is a town and a municipality in Jajpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was the capital of the Kesari dynasty, later supplanted by Cuttack. Now, it is the headquarter of Jajpur district. Etymology and ...

district. She is a former BJP block chairperson and also the fourth woman in the Jajpur district to be elected as a legislator. Sunanda joined the BJD a couple of days before elections. She was in the news for joining the BJD in the morning and getting the party ticket to contest from Bari Assembly seat in the evening. Sunanda had replaced Debasish Nayak, who was elected from Bari Assembly segment four times in a row since 2000. She had to face resentment of the BJD workers in the area when she was nominated from Bari instead of Nayak. Sources said some BJD workers also tried to ensure Sunanda’s defeat from the constituency. The legislator’s nomination was opposed by former Bari block BJD president and an aide of Nayak, Sheikh Safiuddin, and his supporters. The situation turned worse to the extent that Saifuddin was suspended from BJD shortly after the elections were over. Sunanda was pitted against Biswa Ranjan Mallick of the BJP, who was instrumental in getting her elected as block chairperson in 2017. Mallick was defeated by 4,062 votes. While Sunanda received 72,559 votes, the BJP candidate polled 68,497 votes. Congress candidate Umesh Chandra Jena bagged 4,062 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Sunanda 1974 births Living people Biju Janata Dal politicians Odisha MLAs 2019–2024