From boardrooms to bylanes, the journey seems to have been smooth for P. Sadu Sunder. The retired General Manager (Personnel Management) of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, an alumnus of the premier Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, does not look out of place at all as he participates in the rough and tumble of electoral politics in an utterly backward municipal ward in Adilabad town.
“I hail from this place. I was born and brought up in this house,” Mr. Sunder points out as he tries to justifiy his bid to contest as an independent candidate as councillor of ward number 30 in Adilabad Municipality which mainly encompasses Ambedkarnagar and Khanapur slums.
“The place is no different from the one I left behind 35 years back. It needs to be developed and I think I can do that,” the retired official asserted as he hosted five other contestants, his rivals from the ward at an informal get together at his old house on Friday.
“I have been accepted by the 2,800 voters in my ward,” he claims pointing out towards the unsual event of all but one rival contestants accepting his invitation for tea. “They, in fact, were happy that an educated person is among them wishing to serve the people,” he added.
Mr. Sunder spent his childhood in Adilabad town and studied in the famous St. Joseph’s Convent High School till SSC. During his corporate career he was involved in health and education projects as part of corporate social responsibility.
“I will make efforts to develop this place in the field of health and education. I am not only stressing on this but also noting down other problems of the voters to be addressed soon," he revealed as he campaigned at the house of a Scheduled Tribe voter Kunala Padma in the ward.