One nominee for peace

TT, Alipurduar: A panchayat seat consisting of two tiny hamlets in Kalchini block of Alipurduar district has a single candidate for the upcoming polls as the residents have unanimously decided against a contest to avert acrimony among them.

The residents of Nimati Rava Forest Village and the Nimati Dabri Forest Village had adopted the same practise in the previous panchayat elections also.

"After the rural polls were announced, we gathered and decided again that only one candidate would file nomination from our area. We need a representative in the Garopara panchayat but don't want violence and intense political campaign. There were several instances where politics, particularly during rural polls, sparked differences among villagers and even next-door neighbours. We want to avoid it," said Udur Rava, a senior resident.

The villagers, he said, will vote to elect candidates for panchayat samiti and zilla parishad. "These seats cover multiple villages. But in the panchayat, that is the lowest tier, there is a fierce contest in most of the cases," added Udur.

At the meeting conducted by the villagers, Mamtaj Rava, a housewife, was chosen as the candidate.

"The seat has been reserved for women this year. We got names of four other women but finally, Mamtaj was selected. She has filed her nomination and is all set to win uncontested," said another resident.

The village has shunned the political campaign at a time the rest of the state is witnessing violence over the rural polls.

In 2013, the villagers had selected Sanjay Rava as the sole candidate. He had won uncontested as an Independent from the Nimati Rava seat. However, this time, Trinamul has extended support to Mamtaj and the residents have accepted it.

"We feel if our representative is from the ruling party, our villages can get more benefits through panchayats," said Biswanath, Mamtaj's husband.