Pravati Parida: From Lawyer to Odisha’s First Female Deputy CM

Bhubaneswar: Pravati Parida is set to be sworn in as the first female Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha on Wednesday. Parida secured a significant victory over BJD leader Dilip Kumar Nayak, winning by 4,588 votes in the recent assembly elections from the Nimapara constituency.

A native of Nimapara, Pravati Parida is a seasoned lawyer who completed her LLB from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar and has been practicing in the Orissa High Court.

She began her political career with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1997 but ran as an Independent candidate in 2009 after being denied a BJP ticket. Despite finishing fourth that year, she returned to the BJP and contested unsuccessfully in the 2014 and 2019 elections.

The political landscape shifted this election cycle as former BJD MLA Samir Dash switched to the BJP after the BJD nominated Dilip Kumar Nayak for the Nimapara seat. This realignment paved the way for Parida’s victory, marking her debut as an MLA.

Pravati Parida has also held significant roles within the BJP, including serving as the president of the party’s women’s wing in Odisha. In 2018, she led the 11-day Mahila Suraksha Yatra to protest against the rising incidents of crime against women in the state.