Kalavati out of polls, her party cites ‘pressure’
September 29th, 2009 - 3:59 pm ICT by IANS
Nagpur, Sep 29 (IANS) Farm widow Kalavati Bandurkar Tuesday withdrew her candidature from the Maharashtra assembly polls - a decision her party said she was “forced” to take by “vested interests” after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi propelled her to fame.
The move came five days Kalavati travelled in an ambulance to file her nomination papers.
Terming her decision as “regretful”, the sponsors of her candidature, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), however, said the struggle of starving farmers would not end with this.
“We have decided to field Bebitai Bais, another farmer widow, from Wani assembly constituency,” said VJAS president Kishore Tiwari.
He said Kalavati had been under tremendous pressure from the Congress and Sulabh International chief Bindeshwar Pathak for her decision to contest as a VJAS-Third Front candidate.
Terming the withdrawal of her candidature as “forced”, Tiwari said she had become the icon of the debt-ridden farmers of the country, especially Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra, which has seen over 7,000 suicides in the past few years.
“Unfortunately, she could not bear the pressures of her celebrity status after her encounter with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and many other vested interests got into the act, compelling her to withdraw,” Tiwari said.
Tuesday is the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the Oct 13 Maharashtra assembly poll, so VJAS and the Republican Left Democratic Front will now support Bebitai Bais for the elections, Tiwari said.
“We have decided that this time, a Vidarbha farmer’s widow must be elected to the assembly. It will be our way of paying tribute to the memory of over 7,000 debt-ridden farmers who committed suicide in the region. In September alone, 10 farmers killed themselves in Yavatmal district where over 1,600 people have died so far,” Tiwari said.
He reiterated that the VJAS would make a serious attempt to “empower” the widows and orphans of Vidarbha and a widow elected from here shall be their face in the assembly. “Even if it means that I have to sell off all my property and belongings,” Tiwari told IANS.
The Vidarbha region includes Yavatmal, Nagpur, Akola, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Amravati, Buldana, Washim, Bhandara and Chandrapur districts.
The Wani seat shall also be contested by the Congress and Shiv Sena candidates.
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- Kalavati travels in ambulance to file poll nomination papers (Lead) - Sep 25, 2009
- Vidharba woman who inspired Rahul Gandhi gives BJP the slip - Oct 19, 2011
- Farmer's widow kicks off her Maharashtra poll campaign (With Image) - Oct 03, 2009
- NRI group bats for farmer's widow in Maharashtra polls - Oct 04, 2009
- Kalavati, who moved Rahul Gandhi, to contest Maharashtra polls (Lead) - Sep 19, 2009
- Son-in-law of Rahul's Kalavati commits suicide - Dec 17, 2010
- Rahul's Kalavati retreats behind wall of silence - Oct 19, 2011
- Vidarbha farm widows fast in support of Hazare - Apr 08, 2011
- Farmers' widows hold silent protest at Rahul rally - Oct 09, 2009
- Economist Kelkar to meet Vidarbha farmers - Apr 05, 2012
- Economist Vijay Kelkar visits crisis-ridden Vidarbha - Apr 06, 2012
- Three Vidarbha farmers end life - Apr 20, 2012
- Debt drives three more Vidarbha farmers to suicide (Lead) - Apr 20, 2012
- Maharashtra farmers seek probe into relief disbursal - Jun 01, 2010
Tags: ambulance, andolan, assembly poll, assembly polls, bindeshwar pathak, candidature, celebrity status, congress leader, constituency, democratic front, encounter, farmers, last date, maharashtra assembly, nomination papers, orphans, rahul gandhi, suicides, vjas, widows