Upasna Mohapatra

Upasna Mohapatra
Mohapatra in 2017
Member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
2024
Preceded byLalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra
ConstituencyBrahmagiri
Personal details
Born (1997-06-20) 20 June 1997 (age 27)
Brahmagiri, Puri, Odisha
Parent
RelativesLalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra (uncle)
Alma materKIIT International School, Sophia College for Women

Upasna Mohapatra is a politician from Odisha in India representing the Bharatiya Janata Party. She entered politics following the death of her father, Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, a former MLA of the Brahmagiri Assembly constituency. In the 2024 Odisha Legislative Assembly election, she was elected as the MLA from the Brahmagiri constituency.[1]

Biography

Hailing from Brahmagiri, Odisha, Mohapatra is the great granddaughter of Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar who pioneered the Paika rebellion in East India which happens to be the very first rebellion against the British empire (1817), much before the Sepoy mutiny (1857). Her political career has been passed on to her from her late father Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra[2] who was a leader of Odisha Congress. She studied in two private schools of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and pursued higher studies in Sophia College, Mumbai from 2015.

In June 2019, shortly after the announcement of the election results, Upasna got engaged to Mumbai-based businessman Subhransu Sekhar Biswal in a formal ceremony in Bhubaneswar.[3]

Subhransu and Upasna tied the knot on 17th February 2021 in an intimate ceremony surrounded by friends and family.[4]

Political career

Although Mohapatra had not confirmed her political career until October 2017 [5] she had been in the limelight after being active in the 2014 general elections[6] and raising her voice in several political and social matters. She has been prominent in the regional media. On 14 October 2017, she joined the BJP under the leadership of Dharmendra Pradhan. She was appointed the state coordinator of BJP in August 2018 and state convener of the 'I support Modi campaign'.[7]

She spearheaded the Brahmagiri assembly campaign for her uncle Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra in the 2019 Assembly elections where he took the seat of Brahmagiri and is the current MLA of Brahmagiri Assembly segment.[1]

On 16 March 2021 Mahapatra along with around 20 people allegedly roughed up tenants of a house in Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar.[8] Mahapatra was booked for assaulting the tenant and 17 people were arrested over the incident.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Brahmagiri Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live: Get Brahmagiri Lok Sabha Election Results and Candidate List". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra's daughter to step into politics". The Times of India. 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. ^ "ଉପାସନା କହିଲେ ମନର କଥା: ବାପାଙ୍କ ରାସ୍ତାରେ ଯିବେ, ବିବାହ ପରେ ରାଜନୀତି ମଇଦାନକୁ ଓହ୍ଲାଇବେ ପୂରା ଦମରେ… | Sambad". sambad.in. 8 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Upasna Lalatendu Mohapatrra on Instagram: "Subhransu and I tied the knot on 17.02.2021 in an intimate ceremony surrounded by friends and family. We seek your blessings as we embark…"". Instagram. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. ^ Kanak News (27 January 2017), Exclusive Interview With Upasna Mohapatra, archived from the original on 5 March 2017, retrieved 9 February 2017
  6. ^ "Odisha panchayat polls: Upasna Mohapatra campaigns for Congress". OdishaSunTimes.com. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "ଆଇ ସପୋର୍ଟ ମୋଦି କ୍ୟାମ୍ପେନର ରାଜ୍ୟ ସଂଯୋଜିକା ହେଲେ ଉପାସନା ମହାପାତ୍ର". odishatime.co.uk. 6 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Odisha: Businessman Attacked, House Vandalised".
  9. ^ "Odisha BJP leader Upasna Mohapatra booked for assaulting tenant in Bhubaneswar". The New Indian Express. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.