Newsmaker | All this feels like a dream: tribal slum-dweller Majhi, youngest-ever Cuttack deputy mayor

Majhi was elected to the CMC deputy mayor’s post on Thursday after the corporators of the Opposition BJP and Congress staged a walkout to protest against the “manner in which its election was being conducted”.

“Politics was never my first choice. It was never on my mind, let alone winning the municipal corporation polls in the very first election I contested and then getting elected as the Cuttack deputy mayor. All this feels like a dream,” she told The Indian Express.

After her father’s death five years ago, Majhi had to share along with her mother the responsibility of raising her two younger siblings, while she was still pursuing her own studies.

Like her late father, Majhi’s mother is also a daily-wage labourer. “I had to shoulder these responsibilities then. I have seen real life struggles from extremely close quarters and at a very young age. But I knew I had to study to set an example for my siblings and also to improve our lives,” she said.

She supported her family and funded her studies by giving tuitions to the students from her slum.

“Prior to this, I never engaged in politics. I have never participated even in student politics. But I know that I can bring about a lot of change from my position now,” Majhi said.

Ahead of the CMC polls, she started taking interest to see if she could “try and contest” from her local ward reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

“I spoke to the local BJD leaders and then the party approached me to be its nominee here. I thank party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for having faith in me. His vision for the state has always inspired me,” Majhi said.

The ruling party seems to have been impressed by her “remarkable knowledge of local issues and her spirit”. “Damayanti Majhi always stood out from the crowd for her intelligence, hard work and knowledge. She is determined to work for the people and that is what we were looking for. She has an understanding of important issues and the zeal to work out solutions. And we are more than happy to support talented youth like her,” local BJD MLA Souvic Biswal said.

After getting elected as a corporator and then as the deputy mayor of the CMC, Majhi has already started working on her plan of action for Cuttack. “There is a lot to do in the city and I wish to start working on all of it. To begin with, I want to improve the living conditions of people in my slum. I want to ensure basic facilities like drinking water and electricity for all slum areas. Improving the drainage system is another important issue that needs attention,” she said.