I won the election from a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes against a
woman who had held the post for the previous term. The earlier Member had
been powerful because of her influential husband and their connection with a
certain political party. I found that although there had been no change in the
village for the past 20 years, the election procedures were more stringent in
2005, and this enabled me to win as Ward Member. My Ward is spread over
three villages.I received the support of many villagers and was in fact approached by them to
stand for election, which I did despite opposition from my family. The basis for
the villagers’ confidence in me was the fact that although I was a homemaker I
had been active in and fulfilled various responsibilities in different organizations
in the village. I started out with being active in the Co-operative, of which I
was President. I was a member of the School Development Committee and
the President of the Fair Price Depot shops. I feel that my work with these
groups gave the villagers confidence in my ability to effect change through an
elected post in the gram Panchayat.My Panchayat, comprises of ten men and seven women members. Of these,
five women have trained with The Hunger Project. I face constant and
obstinate opposition from the male and some female Members because I have
been questioning the way in which the Panchayat operates and some of its
activities, from the moment of my election. My natural sense of what I feel a
Panchayat should be doing, combined now with my knowledge of what the
procedures to be followed are, aids me in countering the male Members.Working in the Panchayat has been a constant battle. I have been opposed on
various grounds and on almost every issue. For example, at the very outset I
was confronted by other Members for bringing up the issue of the Panchayat’s
responsibilities, for they felt I was creating complications. By substantiating
my demands with the rules and regulations of a functioning Panchayat I have
countered both physical threats to my life as well as emotional abuse, from the
women Members mocking my supposed ineptitude in homemaking to male
Members’ asking me for ‘my price’ in order to get rid of me.Rajamani
Ward Member
Panchayat: Mudgol
Block: Srirangapatnam
District: Mysore