Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Sapling planting fetches him votes Sows hopes in voters' mind

P. Sudhakar

TIRUNELVELI: Intensive campaigning, accompanied by money and muscle power, may get you some votes in any election. Can you believe that some trees, which were planted on a street and in a couple of some other public places some years ago would fetch you votes?

Certainly. A classic example is 46-year old A. Balasubramanian, who has been elected to the Tirunelveli Corporation from ward 53 as an Independent after trouncing candidates fielded by the AIADMK, Congress and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam in the just concluded civic polls.

When Mr. Balasubramanian, owner of a textile shop, started planting 24 tree saplings on his Big Street, Town, six years ago, nobody, except the members of his Kennedy Club, supported him. After providing metal tree-guards to the saplings, he nurtured them with care. Fascinated by the clean and green efforts of Mr. Balasubramanian, the electorate supported him in the local body elections even though he could meet the voters only once when he distributed `booth slips' to them.

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