The colourful tableau of Odisha that showcased women empowerment in the state as well as its rich handicraft and handloom sector during the 75th Republic Day parade here, has bagged the first prize among the tableaux showcased by various states and UTs, officials said on Tuesday.

Gujarat's tableau showcasing Dhordo tourism village has earned the first place in the people's choice category.

The awards for best tableau in the two categories were announced on Tuesday and handed over during a ceremony held at Delhi Cantonment here.

Culture Ministry's tableau themed 'Bharat: Mother of Democracy' has bagged the first prize among tableaux which were displayed by various ministries and departments during the ceremonial parade, the officials said, adding that the Ministry of Home Affairs tableau depicting ‘vibrant villages’ has won the second prize.

A total of 16 tableaux from states and Union territories, and nine from central ministries and departments had rolled down the Kartavya Path during the grand celebrations which was graced by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The states and Union territories which presented their tableaux included Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Ladakh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

"The tableau presented by Odisha has finished first in the judge's choice category while Gujarat's tableau has won the top slot in people's choice category," a senior official said.

In the judge's category, Gujarat finished second while Tamil Nadu was ranked third, he said.

In people's choice category, Uttar Pradesh has bagged the second position and Andhra Pradesh has been ranked third.

For selecting winners in the people's choice category, public voting was conducted through the MyGov platform.

The central part of Odisha's winning tableau highlighted women's involvement in the handicraft and handloom sector through live demonstrations and acknowledged women's adaptation to technology by showing them engaging in cashless transactions and e-platform marketing.

A big umbrella on the tableau denoted the "whole-hearted" support of the central and state governments to the artisans under the "Viksit Bharat" programme.

The "War Horse of Konark Temple" symbolised Odisha's rapid progress in shaping a developed India.

The divine elephant "Kandarpa Hasti" on the tableau symbolised the dedication of Odisha's women to "Viksit Bharat", paralleling the devotion of Gopis to Lord Sri Krishna.

The Gujarat tableau, which was based on the theme 'Dhordo: Global Identity of Gujarat's Border Tourism', covered interesting aspects of the art and culture of Kutch.

Tamil Nadu's tableau highlighted the historical significance of the Kudavolai electoral system, which emerged during the 10th century Chola era and marked an early stride towards democracy.

An artistic image of Ram Lalla whose new idol was recently consecrated at a grand temple in Ayodhya was the showpiece of Uttar Pradesh's tableau in this year's Republic Day parade.

The tableau also depicted the first-ever operational high-speed regional rapid transit system (RRTS) of the country. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the priority section of its first corridor in October.

Uttar Pradesh's tableau had won the top award in 2022. The tableau that year was based on the theme 'One District One Product and Kashi Vishwanath Dham'.

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