Journalism student S. Nagaarjune is set to face an examination of a different kind. The test for the 21-year-old, perhaps the youngest candidate, will be on December 27 in Ward 3 of Neelambur Panchayat, where he is one among the two candidates in the fray.
His results will be out on January 2, 2020, when he will get to know how many of the 889 voters in the ward have accepted his poll promises and chosen him as their ward member.
Mr. Nagaarjune, who is contesting under the ‘Comb’ symbol, has promised to set up smart classrooms in the State government-run school in the area; work towards waste segregation and processing of organic waste; come out with a mobile application for residents to air their grievances; and improve basic amenities like roads and street lights.
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Contesting against him in the ward that has been reserved for candidates from Scheduled Caste communities is Manivasagam, who is 10 years older than Mr. Nagaarjune.
Mr. Nagaarjune says he has waited a long time to contest the polls. “I have always been interested in politics and, in fact, I wanted to pursue political science. But at my mother's instance, I chose computer science. And, by contesting the polls so early in my life, I want to create awareness that 21 is the minimum age for contesting the local body polls,” he says.
His father S. Senthil Kumar, who works at a spinning mill, says Mr. Nagaarjune has been politically aware since his school days. “Even during his school and college days, he conducted free tuition for the have-nots. He has also helped migrant labourers in the area by giving them clothes,” Mr. Kumar says.
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Unlike his peers, Mr. Nagaarjune was more interested in social work and books than other extra-curricular activities, and hardly spent his weekends playing with friends. In doing so, he drew inspiration from former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj and President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Mr. Kumar recalls.
“When I offered to take a loan to gift him a motorcycle, Nagaarjune refused. He said he would like to buy a motorcycle with his own earnings. In fact, it is he who is funding his postgraduate studies, by working part-time at a retail shop,” he says.
Mr. Nagaarjune says he has chosen to contest the panchayat election because he likes to work at the grassroots level to make an impact on the community to which he belongs. “I had been reading about the Panchayat Raj Act, Part IX of the Constitution during my undergraduate days,” he says.
Though his parents were not surprised with his decision to enter the electoral battle, his neighbours and relatives were.
“They had the usual apprehensions – what is a young boy, who has not yet seen the world, trying to achieve in electoral politics? But after I explained what a Panchayat Raj is, what I've learnt about it and what I plan to do, they realised that I was serious about contesting the polls and started supporting me.”
He starts campaigning early in the day, sometimes at 5 a.m., as there are voters who set out in search of work in the wee hours. He takes a break a few hours later, and resumes campaigning around evening. “
The college student appears so serious about the electoral challenge that if he wins, he may even consider discontinuing his studies.