The Hindu : Front Page : This vendor could be your councillor

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Sunday, Mar 21, 2010
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This vendor could be your councillor

Afshan Yasmeen

She is contesting on JD(S) ticket from Ramamandira ward

Enterprising:Vendor Krishnaveniamma handing over an election pamphlet to a customer in Bangalore on Saturday.

Bangalore: Customers who buy vegetables from a cart on Gopalpura Main Road in Rajajinagar 6th Block are happy these days. Not only are they greeted with a smile but their veggies are generously weighed. After their purchase is done, the customers are politely handed over a pamphlet and asked to vote for Krishnaveniamma.

A vegetable vendor, Ms. Krishnaveniamma is the official Janata Dal (Secular) candidate in Ramamindara ward.

Ms. Krishnaveniamma's election campaign has become easier with support from her fellow vegetable vendors.

Owners of neighbouring carts selling bonda-bhajji, fruits and flowers are also recommending her name to their customers.

“When I started my business, I faced a lot of problems from corporation inspectors and the police. It was then that I decided I should someday be part of the system,” Ms. Krishnaveniamma told The Hindu on Saturday. This wannabe councillor is not a novice to politics. She unsuccessfully contested two corporation elections in 1996 and 2001 as an independent candidate. “This time I will win because I have the blessings of Kumaranna [H.D. Kumaraswamy] who has given me the party ticket,” she said.

“I have a great rapport with all my customers. All of them have promised to vote for me. We have set up Jan Shakti Mahila Samaj through which we have been organising eye and general medical camps. I have successfully got widow and old-age pensions for some of my customers. I have also resolved family disputes,” she said.

“If elected, I will first set up a vegetable market in our area. I will also continue to sell vegetables for at least two hours a day. My husband, K. Hari, is managing my cart now,” she added.

Ms. Krishnaveniamma is locked in a triangular poll battle with Hemalatha Janardhan, a school principal, fielded by the Congress, and Jayarathna, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.

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