around me and suggested that I contest the President’s election. Unfortunately,
this was not to be.
I come from a politically active family. Both my brothers-in-law were opposed
to my 2000 nomination. One of them, himself a Congress politician, had
been Ward Member for over 25 years. When the seat in my Ward was declared
reserved, he was all set to prop his daughter in law as the Ward Member
candidate. However, he was not able to gather support from the other local
political players who preferred to support me. During my first term as
Ward Member, I often challenged my brother in law’s efforts to misuse the
Panchayat. Things came to a head when he approached the President to fiddle
with land ownership papers and allocate a community owned drinking water
well tone of his henchmen. I was strongly opposed to this and informed all
the neighbors who used the community well and with their collective might
did not allow the transfer.
Consequently, when I was offered the opportunity to stand for the President
elections, my family was strongly against it. There were regular quarrels in
my home. My brothers in law threatened me and tried to mobilize the locals
against me. They pushed to nominate their own candidate- another woman
from within our family. Wary of the effect this row was having on my family
and particularly my children, I agreed to withdraw my candidature. Instead,
I pledged my support to another candidate that the ST community leaders
had identified. I worked behind the scenes to ensure that this candidate won
the election.
Meanwhile, my constituents, especially my friends in the SHg group and
VDC quietly offered me their support if I were to stand for elections in their
Ward. Other local leaders also offered to work with me and mobilize Ward
constituents. Encouraged by these pledges of support, I gathered the strength
to stand for re-election in my Ward. Naturally, this irked the brothers-in-law
who in turn put up their own candidate against me. The 2-day lead up to
the election was a bitter fight. My opponents threatened my supporters and
stood outside my house with Lathi’s (sticks) to prevent them from interacting