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Finally, 102-year-old Gouthamamma, the grand old lady of Doddalatturu near Hanur in Chamarajanagar district, marched her way to victory, by bagging 354 votes, in the recently held Gram Panchayat elections.

With elected representatives turning a blind eye to the problems in the village, the residents of Doddalatturu egged Gouthamamma to contest elections, with the hope that the village would witness a change. Youth and women extended their support to the senior citizen and sought votes on her behalf. Goutha­mamma, on her part, inspired the voters with her steely grit and determination.

Seasoned by the travails of life, she is groomed enough to take over the reins of panchayat administration. It has been 49 years since her husband, Avalanayak died. She helmed the affairs of her family of six daughters and a son, who also passed away 30 years ago.

Gouthamamma leads an independent life. Without much ado, she attends to her daily chores with ease. With oodles of confidence and excellent oratory skills, winning elections was a cakewalk for Gouthamamma. She is all set to take over the mantles of panchayat administration on her frail shoulders, in memory of her husband, who had thrived for the welfare of the village.

Cong, BJP claim victory in GP polls

 
PRAYING FOR VICTORY: Hundreds of supporters of gram panchayat poll candidates gather outside the counting centre at Government PU College in Kengeri on Friday. dh Photo

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday declared the results for 60,000 gram panchayat seats of the total 94,348 seats, polling for which was held in two phases recently.

Counting of votes, which began at 8 am, was in progress till late in the evening in many districts. The electorate had exercised their franchise using ballot papers, except for Bidar district where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used for the first time.  Hence the counting was delayed. Results of all 2,987 seats in Bidar were declared by the SEC. As many as 8,690 candidates were elected unopposed.

State Election Commissioner P N Srinivasachary said barring a few incidents of mild caning to maintain order, counting has been peaceful across the State. Counting of votes in Bidar, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru districts was over by evening. As elections to gram panchayats were held without the party symbols, political party-wise results were not announced. However, two national parties, the Congress and the BJP, claimed that candidates supported by them have won majority of seats and even thanked the electorate for voting in favour of their candidates. KPCC president G Parameshwara said an internal assessment by the party has revealed that the Con­g­ress-supported candidates have won in most panchayats.

“The election results have proved that the people of the State are in favour of Congress. The results are also a reflection of the achievements of the State government,” he stated in a press release. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also made the same claim and said that results have proved that people have accepted and recognised the government’s programmes and its administration. Both the leaders also congratulated the newly elected gram panchayat members.

The BJP claimed that more than 60 per cent of candidates who have won were supported by the party and that the elections have strengthened the party in rural areas.
“People of the State, especially rural voters, have rejected the Congress policies and expressed their strong resentment over the functioning of the Siddaramaiah government. We thank the voters who came out in large numbers to express their anger at maladministration of the Siddaramaiah government,” State BJP president Pralhad Joshi said. The JD(S) claimed that it has got second place in the polls. But it did not reveal who stood first.