PANCHAYAT POLL

Rural poll : A mother's dilemma

 

COOCH BEHAR, May 5: An aged mother of two candidates is suffering from a peculiar dilemma. She is now in a quandary what she will do.

 

It is the story of Mrs Gurudasi Sarkar (85) of Tufanganj. Her younger son Mr Ajit Sarkar is a candidate of BJP at Booth No. 37 under Chilakhana-II gram panchayat. He had contested from this seat two times in the previous elections. This time, his elder brother Mr Sunil Sarkar is also contesting against him as a CPI-M candidate. And the duel of two brothers made the things hard for their mother. Whom will she vote for? She is suffering from indecision.

 

Sitting at her residence at Deocharai Morh of Chilakhana the old lady said she never had to pass through such a problem. "Whom should I vote? Both are my sons. It is hard for me to support one instead of the other. Defeat of any one of them will hurt me. As a mother I cannot prefer one son instead of the other", she said.

 

The BJP candidate Mr Ajit Sarkar said he had prayed his mother's blessings soon after filing of his nomination and she had blessed him. On the otherhand, the CPI-M candidate Mr Sunil Sarkar claimed that he had took permission from his mother before being a candidate. "Now, it is upto my mother whether she will cast her vote in favour of me or not. I think she will not dishearten me", he said.

 

Local leaders of both the CPI-M and the BJP however said that they never thought of such a problem from the standpoint of an old mother. Meanwhile, the aged Mrs Sarkar chalked out a plan to come out from the problem. Very confidently she said she would ask for two ballot papers from the polling officials and cast her vote in favour of both her sons. A novel plan indeed! []

 

PHOTO : BILLBOARD - Painters busy in writing graffiti on posters and hoarding for panchayat poll candidates. In Dinhata, Cooch Behar on Monday.