Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Hoping for a positive change

Determined: Jagannath, a HIV-affected candidate, filing his nomination papers in Gulbarga on Saturday.

GULBARGA: It was an unusual sight at the Town Hall here on Saturday where the Returning Officer of the Gulbarga North Assembly Constituency was accepting nomination papers from candidates, with about 30 people waiting outside the premises silently for 43-year-old Jagannath to file his.

Unlike the supporters of various political parties who shouted slogans in favour of their candidates, this group of middle-aged men and women waited silently with resoluteness. They belonged to a group called “Divya Jeevana,” the District Network of People living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Mr. Jagannath, who has been living with HIV for the past 10 years, was about to create history by becoming the first HIV-Positive person to file his nomination papers.

While he was filing his papers, his friend Mahanth Gouda Patil, also HIV affected, was filing his nomination before the Returning Officer of the Shahapur Assembly Constituency.

“In Gulbarga city, there are 26,000 HIV-Positive people and if all of them and their family members come out and vote in favour of me, I should win,” Mr. Jagannath said with a sparkle in his eyes. He said “with no political party showing any concern for HIV-affected people in the State, it has become imperative for persons affected by the virus to contest the polls to help espouse their cause.”

He said his team of friends had brought out their own manifesto which promised pension, Ashraya houses, easy accessibility to hospitals for better and assured treatment, and rehabilitation schemes for the family members of those affected by the disease.

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