BHUBANESWAR: In Koraput Parliamentary constituency, SUCI’s Pramila Pujari is pitted against heavyweights of the three main political parties - who are also the wealthiest - with just Rs 20,625 in her bank account. But, funds will not be a roadblock in her poll battle, she asserts.
Pramila will be testing the electoral waters for the first time and she has been campaigning door-to-door in villages across the district either by foot, cycle, motorcycle or public transport, depending on the distance, to cut down on the fuel expenses.
“My aim is to reach every village under the constituency before the campaigning ends and I have covered most so far,” said 25-year-old Pujari, who is also the youngest among the 11 contenders for the Lok Sabha seat.
A resident of Nuaguda under Boipariguda block, she cleared her Bachelors degree from Government Women’s College at Jeypore last year and had been helping her family with farm work ever since.
A student leader of All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), Pramila has been fighting for tribal students’ education rights since her Plus Two days. Which is also why, education figures top in her poll agenda, the other being rights of tribals over ‘jungle and zamin’ and accessibility to remote villages. “There are many areas in the districts under the constituency where close to 400 schools have been closed down by the government in the last few years on many grounds including school merger. Neither do schools nor colleges have sufficient teachers,” she said.
Denial of forest and land rights to tribals and lack of roads to many villages are her other areas of concern. Tribals, she said, have been suffering for ages as they are being denied rights over their forest and land. “They are being evicted from the land that they were cultivating and trees are being planted there by the government. Since they have no forest rights, collecting minor forest produce is also difficult. This has been affecting their livelihood for a long time,” Pramila added.
She has been reaching out to people in villages with these issues with the help of SUCI workers and her Nuaguda supporters.
Funds, she said, haven’t been a roadblock so far. The Rs 20,625 in her account have been collected through public donations for election expenses, she added. Although she would face biggies like sitting MP Saptagiri Ulaka of Congress, Kausalya Hikaka of BJD and Kaliram Majhi of BJP, Pramila believes her connection with people at the grassroots may help her overcome the huge challenge.
“Big leaders have funds to sponsor big rallies, feasts and gifts. But all of that is temporary. I am one amongst the voters who faces the same issues that they do,” she said.