Wednesday, December 18, 2019

90-year-old joins race for panchayat president in Salem

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Salem:18.12.2019

A 90-year-old woman has jumped into the fray for electing panchayat president of a village near Salem.

Nonagenarian Kanagavalli Alagesaboopathy — measured in her words, cautious in her walk and pleasant in demeanour — could perhaps be the oldest contestant in the local body polls this time. “People wanted me to contest. I couldn’t refuse when everyone requested.’’ When she walked into the panchayat union office at Veerapandi on Monday, many assumed she was another applicant for a government sop. But when they found out that the reason for her visit, it was more than a surprise. The excitement spread and soon everyone in the panchayat union office came to help with the nomination to contest for the post of panchayat president of Murungpatti, a village of 5,000 people near Attayampaati.

Testing political waters is not new to Kanagavalli though. In fact, it runs in her family, one of whose members has held the post for 45 years. “My late husband held the post for 20 years and my son held it for another 20 years,’’ she said. Kanagavalli herself was the panchayat president for five years from 2001 to 2006. “She is still agile. There is no doubt that she can discharge the duty of panchayat president,’’ says her son M A Parthasarathy, a four-time panchayat president. “This time the post has been reserved for women. Hence my mother is contesting,’’ he adds.

Want to know who her rival in the political battle is? It is her daughter–in–law Pushpa Parthasarathy, 55.




Kanagavalli Alagesaboopathy

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