On Rajya Sabha cross-voting, Congress thrashes Muslims as ‘shameless, sold to BJP’. Know who is Sofia Firdous who ‘betrayed’ party in Odisha

It’s a free season for jumping political ships, changing ideological stripes, and backstabbing this Rajya Sabha election season, and the Congress is visibly stung.

Congress blames Muslims: After cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana and Odisha, a furious Congress cried “betrayal” in fury. Ruffled by betrayal from its own prominent faces, Congress MP Imran Masood rather shifted the blame to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and even went ahead to “target Muslims for selling themselves…to the BJP”.

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Golden Quote:

“What is happening in the country is leading to the destruction of democracy…I will especially target Muslims, who are selling themselves to vote for the BJP. They have no shame. The people of their area, whether it’s in Odisha or Haryana, should ask them, You are selling your dignity for money with the Bharatiya Janata Party. You have no shame…”

Rajya Sabha Context: The outburst followed close on the heels of the suspension of three Odisha MLAs for cross-voting in favour of BJP-backed candidate Dilip Ray in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Monday, March 16. The three suspended are Ramesh Chandra Jena of Sanakhemundi, Dasarathi Gomango of Mohana, and Sofia Firdous of Barabati-Cuttack.

“Those who betray Congress are betraying the nation,” Odisha State Congress Committee announced in a social media post.

Opponents fight you from the outside; traitors weaken you from the inside.#Traitors of #Congress are #Traitors of #Nation pic.twitter.com/vcjv5z7S1H

— Odisha Congress (@INCOdisha) March 16, 2026

State Congress head Bhakta Charan Das said, “This act of betrayal was unexpected from these MLAs. We will ensure that they are disqualified from the Assembly under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.”

BJP-backed Dilip Ray secured victory after three Congress and eight Biju Janata Dal (BJD) cross-voted for him. Out of the four Rajya Sabha seats for which elections were held in Odisha, the BJP secured two, besides Ray, while the BJD bagged one.

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… pic.twitter.com/KR8AgDLA7r

— Odisha Congress (@INCOdisha) March 17, 2026

Stung Congress reacts: Meanwhile, Congress evaded a scare with the close victory of Kaaramver Singh Boudh, who just managed to win despite cross-voting by five and the annulment as invalid of four others of his party.

Congress Haryana in-charge BK Hariprasad vowed action against the erring MLAs. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, without naming the MLAs, called the cross-voting “vote theft”.

Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, meanwhile, said: “Those of our MLAs who have sold their conscience and integrity—not just them, but even their next generations—will be held accountable by the people of Haryana and the people of their areas… The Congress Party is going to take the strictest possible action against those MLAs…”

Odisha Shocker: Who is Sofia Firdous who betrayed Congress

• Sofia Firdous, 35, comes from a political family of Odisha.
• She is the first Muslim woman MLA of Odisha.
• She succeeded her father, Mohammed Moquim, who served as the MLA of Barabati-Cuttack before her.
• Mohammed Moquim could not contest the 2024 polls, owing to his disqualification from the Odisha High Court due to several case spending against him.
• She is part of the “millennial gang” of the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
• She had defeated a BJP stalwart in the 2024 assembly elections by a narrow margin of 8,100 votes.
• Sofia Firdous is a civil engineer, having completed her BTech from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneshwar.
• She then went on to study at IIM, Bangalore.
• In 2023, Sofia Firdous was elected as the chair of the Bhubaneshwar chapter of CREDAI.
• Firdous is also the East Zone coordinator of CREDAI’s women’s wing.
• Sofia has the distinction of being the co-president of the Bhubaneshwar chapter of CII-IGBC (Indian Green Building Council).
• Sofia Firdous was an entrepreneur before turning to politics. She worked with The Metro Group.
• She has been married to businessman Sheikh Merajul Haque since 2015.
• Sofia Firdous considers the first woman chief minister of Odisha, Nandini Satpathy, as her ideal.