Two Prez kin keen to contest Jhinjhak chief’s poll
Two relatives of President Ram Nath Kovind are said to be keen to contest the election for the Jhinjhak municipal council chairperson. The President’s eldest sister-in-law Vidyawati, who raised him after his mother’s death in a fire accident, and another relative Deepa Kovind have staked claim to the BJP ticket for the civic poll.
KANPUR: Two relatives of President of India Ram Nath Kovind are both said to be keen to contest the election for the Jhinjhak municipal council chairperson.
Jhinjhak, a town in Kanpur Dehat, will elect a chairperson for the municipal council for the first time.
It used to have a 100-year-old nagar panchayat before it was turned into a nagar palika or municipal council this year with seats reserved for women of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for the top post.
The President’s eldest sister-in-law Vidyawati, who raised him after his mother’s death in a fire accident, and another relative Deepa Kovind have staked claim to the BJP ticket for the civic poll. The two are also neighbours. They are among nine applicants for the party ticket.
Vidyawati, who goes by one name only, has made it clear she will contest only on the BJP ticket. But Deepa, the daughter-in-law of the President’s younger brother Pyarelal, has indicated it won’t matter to her whether the BJP gives her the ticket or not. Whether as a party nominee or an independent, she is keen to try her luck in the electoral fray.
Vidyawati applied for the ticket after some well-wishers and party leaders encouraged her to contest, said a family member who didn’t wish to be named.
“It is clear she will contest either on the BJP ticket or not at all. There is talk in the family about a consensus so that only one person should contest,” the family member said.
The family is trying to speak to other aspirants in an attempt to dissuade them from contesting the elections so that any contestant from the family is elected unopposed.
Vidyawati’s family members have met senior party leaders on the issue to help her be elected unopposed as a BJP nominee. Despite these efforts, Deepa’s posters have come up across the town. So far, there is no indication that she will pull out of the race.
“She is prepared to contest as an independent in case she isn’t given the ticket,” said another family member who too did not wish to be named.