Soniya Gandhi.
Credit: Special Arrangment.
Thiruvananthapuram: A BJP woman candidate in the Kerala local body election is triggering much curiosity over her name, Soniya Gandhi.
The 33-year-old D Soniya Gandhi is contesting as BJP candidate at Nallathani ward in Munnar panchayat in Idukki district.
"My father Durairaj was a staunch Congress worker. It was owing to his admiration for the Nehru family as well as Sonia Gandhi that made him name me Soniya Gandhi. Now my husband Subash is a BJP worker and hence I also became a BJP supporter," Soniya Gandhi told DH.
Soniya said that during her school days her friends and teachers used to make fun of her over the name. Hence she even thought of changing the name. But now she is happy with the name as it is an added advantage for her in the election campaign.
"Since people used to ridicule me, I often avoided telling my full name. I used to tell my name as Sonia or Sony. Many people in my locality came to know my full name now only from the election campaign posters. I am feeling happy over my name now," she said.
Asked if she wishes to meet Congress top leader Sonia Gandhi, the Soniya says, "I don't have much desire to meet Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. But now I wish I could meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Soniya, who did her schooling up to tenth in Munnar and higher secondary studies in Thiruvananthapuram, also has a reason why she shifted her loyalty to the BJP. "All my relatives are still Congress loyalists. But when my family faced some personal crisis a couple of years back we did not get any support form either the Congress or the CPM which have been ruling our panchayat over the years. That prompted us to join the BJP," said Soniya.
Soniya, who is now taking on Manjula Ramesh of the Congress and Valarmathi of the CPM, is hopeful of scripting success in her maiden electoral battle.
Even as there is an additional 'y' in her name compared to that of the Congress leader, in Malayalam and Tamil, both Soniya and Sonia are written in the same manner. In the Tamil speaking people dominated high-range constituency where she is contesting, many hoardings and placards are in Tamil.