DEEPIKA DAMERLA
Daughter of DVR Rao (Nani) and Sesh of Pune

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A Telugu woman with roots in the city has made it to the Ontario Provincial Legislature in Canada as a Member Provincial Parliament (MPP), Later she has been made a Minister of state also.

Deepika Damerla, born in Secunderabad and an alumnus of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tirumalgherry, won the election in October from Mississauga East-Cooksville constituency, a city next to Toronto.

Ms. Damerla who had taken the oath as an Ontario Liberal MPP (on par with member of legislative Assembly here) in Canada on October 27, became the first ever elected member in Canada to take an oath on Gita, which makes her the first Hindu and first Indian born woman to have won the elections in Canada.

Dipika did her schooling mostly in Kendriya Vidyalayas all over India with every transfer of her father. She did her B.Com and C.A from Pune and moved to Canada after her marriage in the early 1990s.

She subsequently did her MBA in finance and worked for the Royal Bank and Scotia Bank before opting for a career as a social and political commentator for Omni TV covering local issues in Missisauga.

Dipika began her career as a social and political commentator for OMNI TV, covering many local issues in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Prior to her current career, she worked in corporate banking at two of Canada’s largest financial institutions - the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia.

She has run a small business in the telecomunications industry and understands that there are few things more rewarding than running a successful enterprise and creating jobs and opportunities for local communities.

Her extensive community involvement includes volunteering with the Mississauga Food Bank, founding the clothing drive Vastra Daan, chairing the India Pavilion, Carrasauga, and hosting a classical music show on CIUT 89.5 FM community radio.
As a working mother, Dipika understands the challenges that hard-working families face every day: the challenge of balancing work and family, of getting the best for our children, and of carving out a secure and stable future in the midst of so much change.

In 2011 she was the Liberal candidate in the riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville. She beat her nearest rival, Progressive Conservative Zoran Churchin by 4,161 votes. Dipika Damerla once worked as the senior policy advisor to Ontario’s minister of economic development and trade. Now, with her win last night in Mississauga East-Cooksville, she’s an MPP herself.

A.Vijaya Murthy (jijji)
Visakhapatnam