Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Panchayat polls: Unusual candidates try their luck by Maulshree Seth

Panchayat polls: Unusual candidates try their luck by Maulshree Seth

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Oct 25, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 25, 2010

Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh this time have seen unusual candidates jumping into the fray. There are teachers, shopkeepers, businessmen, relatives of politicians and even wives of BSP ministers. Some of them took leave from their normal work and some even sold their properties to take part in the polls.

All claim they want to serve their village, block or district, but it is alleged that the lure of money pouring into various rural development schemes, particularly MGNREGA, has attracted many of them.

Polling in the four-phase election concluded on Monday and the counting of votes will begin on Thursday.

“I have seen the pradhan’s family getting rich from the money meant for the poor and Dalits. In the past few years, they have bought vehicles and they ask for money right from issuing job cards under NREGA to payment of wages. Some Dalits from my village asked me to contest the polls so that money meant for welfare of the poor can reach them,” said 55-year-old Girendra Mahatma, who sold half of his land to contest the election of pradhan from Lakhimpur Kheri district’s Kashipur village.

Asked how he would earn a living after having sold four of his eight bighas, Mahatma said, “I am not married so it will not be much of a problem. My brother and his sons are helping me. No one in my family has contested an election before.” He said the money raised from selling land had been used for “khilana-pilana” of voters because “all candidates have to do it”.

Retired IAS officer Ram Bihari Bhaskar’s wife Bimla Bhaskar is contesting for the membership of Sirsaganj zila panchayat in Jalaun because “she found it interesting and attractive and so entire family decided to support her.”

Thirty-six-year-old Rakesh Kumar, who is a teacher of economics at a private school in Shahjahanpur, is contesting the zila panchayat election in his native Lakhimpur district. No one from his family has ever contested a panchayat election. Asked about his interest, he said, “With so many new welfare schemes initiated by the Centre and the state government, the villages need educated leaders. So I decided to try my luck.”

Munisha Begum is contesting for the post of pradhan in Banka village near Shahjahanpur district. Munisha is also the first from her family to contest. She leaves most of the talking to her husband Rayees Ahmed who is managing the election and has already started calling himself “pradhan shauhar”. He said Munisha was contesting because “Humen shauk tha” (I was interested), and the seat was reserved for women. The family has spent about Rs 35,000, which was its saving from the earning from a small shop, hoping that things would be all right after Munisha is elected.

Even minister’s relatives are contesting. Sadhna Singh, wife of Forest minister Fateh Bahadur Singh is contesting the election of zila panchayat member from Gorakhpur, and there have been allegations that the minister had been using his official resources to help her. Similarly, wife of Minister for Vocational Education Chaudhary Lakshmi Narayan is contesting zila panchayat election from Mathura, wife of BSP Parliamentary Affairs minister Lalji Verma is contesting election of zila panchayat from

Ambedkarnagar, wife of Panchayat Raj minister Swami Prasada Maurya is contesting zila panchayat’s member election from Pratapgarh and wife of Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh’s brother Mudit Verma Vandana is contesting the election of zila panchayat member in

Muzaffarnagar district. Mudit Verma said, “The seat was reserved for women from backward classes and people approached me to field my wife. Last year, about Rs 30 crore meant for rural development schemes was left unspent in our district. People think this will not happen if Vandana becomes chairman of the zila panchayat.”

Kunwar Bhupendra Singh, who is a former ruler of a small princely state and is called “Raja Mal”, is contesting for the post of pradhan of Mal village panchayat. A former Lucknow district president of the BJP, he has been pradhan in the past and his wife has been the pradhan twice. “We have been here for ages. Since Mal Assembly seat has been reserved, I decided to contest for pradhan to serve the people this way.”

Asked about the increased interest of people in the panchayat elections this time, Singh admitted, “There is no doubt that welfare schemes like various pension and scholarships that are distributed through gram sabhas and NREGA are attracting people this time.”


The Indian Express, 26 October, 2010, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Panchayat-polls--Unusual-candidates-try-their-luck/702584/


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close