Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena congratulates K Shanti after her election as deputy mayor of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 5: K. Shanti of the BJD today became deputy mayor of the municipal corporation.

The 37-year-old Shanti was declared the winner after the authorities received only her nomination paper today. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced his choice in the morning. Shanti is representing BJB Nagar (ward No. 56) in the 67-member Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. She is a two-term councillor.

Like mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, she, too, was picked up by Naveen for the coveted post.

The BJD high command had asked all the councillors to come over to the chief minister’s residence in the morning as many councillors were busy campaigning for party candidates at Cuttack and Baripada, which are going to the polls tomorrow.

Reacting to her selection by the party chief for the post, Shanti said she would work hard for slum dwellers, and especially, for them to ensure dwelling units under the Rajiv Awas Yojana. “The yojana units at Mainsikhal and Pathara Bandha Basti will be my priority areas,” she said.

A student of Kamala Nehru Women’s College at Unit-II, she completed her higher secondary education in arts and was teaching at Shantanu English Medium School as a teacher. In 2008, she quit the job after becoming a councillor. She has been working for the development of the city’s slums.

Daughter of M. Mallesu Rao, a grassroots-level politician of the BJD from Kalpana, Shanti has a modest upbringing inside the Kalpana Labour Colony. “I have seen the problems faced by slum dwellers from close quarters. I am worried about the health and education of kids staying there. This will also be priority area during my tenure as a deputy mayor,” she said.

She lives in her house with her husband and two sons. While her elder son is studying BTech at a city-based college, the younger one is in Class VI. Shanti’s mother and brother also stay with her.

Election officer for the corporation polls and additional district magistrate of Bhubaneswar Manoj Kumar Patnaik said: “With the election of the deputy mayor, the election process is over. I will send the formal report to the housing and urban development department.”

Former deputy mayor Bharati Singh said: “Naveen babu is the ultimate decision-maker in the party, and we are happy that an efficient grassroots-level worker has got an opportunity to serve the city.”

Another contender to the deputy mayor’s post Mahamaya Swain said: “I had never been in the race. The media only circulated my name. All women councillors will come forward to help Shanti towards executing the responsibilities.”

On the next meeting of the corporation council, the mayor said: “First, the councillors will be chosen for various select committees. After that the first meeting of the council will be notified.”

The process for election of the deputy mayor had started after the notification was issued by the mayor’s office.

The election process started today from 10am and the result was announced later in the day.