I was elected unopposed. Initially there was another woman candidate in the
fray but being from the same village as mine, she withdrew her nomination.
This Ward was reserved for women and both of us belonged to the general
caste.I have studied until Class VI. I live with my husband, son, daughter-in-law,
and two grandsons. Before stepping into politics, I was a farmer. My family
only has seven-bhighas of land, which we cultivate. My husband has been
working with the Postal Department for the past thirty years. My son has a
private job. I have two married daughters and my sons-in-law are employed
with the government. Not one of these people encouraged me to contest the
Panchayat elections. It was my confidence and my courage that convinced me
to contest elections. I am also the President of the Mahila Mandal (women’s
group). We work very closely with SUTRA and this is how I get my strength.
My family made it clear how they felt, and should not involve them whether
I won or lost.Before the elections, the men in my village organised a meeting and did not
invite my family. They collectively decided to nominate a woman candidate
who they said would then win the elections unopposed. This candidate
happened to be my sister-in-law. She has studied until Class x but is not a
member of any group. It upset my family that they did not consult us in this
matter. This helped me decide to contest elections and I filed my nomination
that very evening. People tried to convince me to withdraw my nomination,
but by then, I had made up my mind to contest no matter what.People also suggested that there should be a toss between my sister-in-law
and me and whoever won the toss would be elected unopposed. However,
I made it clear that I was not there to play a match and this was a strategy
to create conflict between us. This is politics, I said, and the candidate the
public supports will win the election. When those opposing my candidature
realised that I would not change my mind they withdrew my sister-n-law’s
nomination.Lakshmi Devi
Ward Member
Panchayat: Raudi
Block: Kasauli
District: Solan