When news arrived that 79 year-old A. Veerammal became the panchayat president of Arittapatti, her family members erupted into joy, though the Thursday’s result did not come much of a surprise to them.
Her son A. Mohanasundaram said, “Our family of farmers is popular in our village for so many years and everybody knows her. “Still, despite her old age, she visited each house and canvassed for votes. It is easy to identify my mother among the lot as she is the village paati,” he said.
Ms. Veerammal told The Hindu that she contested in the local body election with the whole aim of taking charge. “I was happy to be one of the contestants and I’ll work for the betterment of Arittapatti. The village has given me so much over the past several years. It is time to give back to the village in the form of basic necessities such as drinking water, roads, proper bathrooms and drainage facilities,” she said.
Mr. Mohanasundaram said she campaigned extensively and was very confident of a victory. “We did not even paste posters in the village. Since we had a huge following of youngsters who rallied around my mother, they happily campaigned for the ‘brinjal’ symbol allocated to us and helped us win,” he said.
After winning, she visited all households and thanked the voters. “She is tired now. But she will sleep with peace and joy,” he said.
