PUDUKKOTTAI: Usually in politics, opposition leaders question the ones in power. Going a step further, a youngster from Puliyur put up condolence posters one year after the local body elections. M Ilayaraja who was unsuccessful in the elections to the post of Panchayat president in 2019 put up posters in a 10 km radius of the town. The posters were stuck on December 27, and have become talk of the town.
The poster reads, ‘the day you gave up your rights for money’. He thanked the 1770 people who didn’t vote for him and the 236 people who did. “I felt really bad when I lost. Four of us stood in the elections, and I stood independently. Most of people sold their votes for Rs 500.
I just want to remind them of their mistake. There has been no change in the past year. I hope that in future elections, be it local body or Assembly or Lok Sabha, people vote for good governance and not money,” said Ilayaraja. Ilayaraja was working in Villupuram District Mental Health office but later quit to contest elections. He says that he wants to build a library in the village.
“My focus is to ensure that the next generation should be brought up properly. I’m first going to take a census and see how many people are educated in the village. I hope to provide free classes in the weekends soon,” said Ilayaraja.