Campaign trail: Young women candidates bat for reforms

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 11

Suman (24)

At 24 years of age, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Suman is the youngest from the party to contest the municipal elections.

Pursuing MCom at a local college, Suman whose inclinations and preferences for the AAP were formed by her father Baldev Raj, who was a member of the AAP, said the party’s ideology went a long way in influencing her thoughts.

Having canvassed in the Guru Amar Dass Nagar extension area and Kalia Colony areas at her ward number 2 this morning, she now heads to the Kachehri area, seeking votes.

While Suman herself faced a lot of difficulties as a student, she says one of her key concerns for the area remains the uplift of women in her ward. She says, “There are so many projects being run for women but these are not being popularised. I would be laying thrust on the safety of women in the ward and ensuing proper street-lights on all roads.”

While she faced difficulties during her study days, she says, “Many kids lag behind in studies, all kinds of facilities shall be ensured for the youth in my ward and their motives shall be solved.”

Rekha Kashyap (35)

A DD artiste and a social activist, Rekha Kashyap, a candidate for the AAP, traverses various areas even as it pours in the city on this chilly December day. Having regaled generations of audiences with her comic act on Jalandhar Doordarshan, Rekha decided to contest the elections from the AAP after being coaxed by a former teacher and based on her own passion to look for an alternative means of politics to the one she grew up watching.

With a passion to serving disabled kids and those with mental impairments, Rekha currently works with disabled kids at a local school in Jalandhar.

Having been programme officer of the Special Olympics Bharat, Punjab Chapter, Rekha has been holding various nukkad nataks and awareness programmes on the issue for kids from time to time. Going around in her area in an auto and simultaneously seeking votes on a microphone, Rekha said her prime motive for her own area was the removal of politics of “parivarvaad” (dynasty). While she has no political background or backing, she said it was the encouragement from a teacher which made her take up politics in the first place.

She said, “My teacher Sarla Bhardwaj asked me to take up politics. During a door-to-door campaign, she came to my house and said given my popularity, I should accompany her. I like the policies of the AAP. So, eventually during the MC elections, I agreed to contest as a candidate.”

While she says that her prime aim is to give the people a “common man” option rather than the trend of party and dynasty politics which has traditionally ruled the roost, speaking about her agenda for her area, Rekha said, “My primary aim is to ensure that people’s money is spent for the people. Politicians should be answerable for all the money people spend. All funds should be duly accounted for, which never happens. The area is riddled with dirty pipes, people are getting dirty water supply. This needs to be changed. The elected representative is responsible for ensuring cleanliness and hygiene for the people.”