Who says age is a factor in profession. Well, in politics age is no bar. While the youngest candidate 26 year-old Pratima Chak is all set to contest from Kidwainagar, Kanpur, 95-year-old Jal Devi is eagerly looking forward to contesting from Khergad, Agra.
The lively Devi is second to none as far as age is concerned. In the recent Zila Panchayat elections, she was the first female to get landslide victory with a margin of 13,500 votes. Following which she was elected a member of Zila Panchayat from her village in the same constituency.
Now, mother of three sons and three daughters, she wants to play bigger role by becoming MlA of her constituency.
“The farmers are committing suicide, poor are getting poorer and people are deprived of development and basic amenities. Only a few years of my life is left and I want to dedicate it to the people,” Jal Devi told The Pioneer.
Interestingly, her elder son Ramnath who had served in the Army has also joined the poll fray and is contesting election from the same constituency. The mother and son are opponent to each other but they want people to elect one of them. “My mother said after serving in the Army now it’s time to serve the people by contesting election and bring end to the problems of farmer, poor and common people,” said Ramnath.
Earlier, when she went to file nomination papers, she was on the wheelchair to complete the process. But for campaigning among the people, she tries to meet voters and tell them about her plans to uplift the locality.
On the other hand, Pratima, an MBA graduate from the Desh Shakti Party from Kanpur, is the maternal granddaughter of a former IPS officer SN Chak, who has founded the Desh Shakti Party. She told The Pioneer that she had been working for the party for the past two years in Kanpur.
“The party was formed in 2014 and I have been working for it with my grandfather for the past two years as a general secretary. There were several options that were open for me since the time I completed my MBA, I felt that nothing has been done in my constituency by the sitting MlA from Congress which is what inclined me towards a political career,” she said.
Giving a background of her party, she said if Ambedkar’s ideas were being followed properly then they would not have formed the party. “This party has been formed to implement the ideas of Ambedkar and there is no manifesto that we have. We do not want to make false promises and will accomplish first what we want to do. I know it is challenging to be contesting on ticket of a newly formed party,” she said.
Pratima said she wanted to work for the slums primarily in her area. “The people in the slums face a lot of problem and they have no information about various Government schemes. If I win I would like to work in this area specifically. I also want to contribute in the area of Skill Development programme,” she added.
Pratima, who has already filed her nomination papers, is all set for the campaigning which begins on Friday but she admits that she has already started getting an overwhelming response from people.
