This political lightweight packs a punch

 At 22, JD(S) candidate from Dr Rajkumar Ward in Rajajinagar is one of the youngest in the fray BBMP polls. A BCom graduate, Navya Shankar hails from a middle class family with no political background. So, what made her contest elections, of all the options before her?

Navya believes that there are very few members in the civic bodies who represent the hopes and the aspirations of youth. “So, I decided to take a plunge into electoral politics,” she said.

“When youngsters approach the authorities with a problem, more often than not, they are snubbed. There is a need for representing the voice of the youth, the candidate said speaking to Deccan Herald. With no party affiliation, she was planning to contest the polls as an independent. However, in the last minute, JD(S) offered her the ticket and she accepted it gleefully.

 Navya, a resident of Rajajinagar, said that she was familiar with the civic issues in the locality. “I have grown up in this locality. I have gone to school and college, here. I know the problems faced by schoolchildren and by college-going girls. I am also familiar with the larger civic issues that need to be addressed in the locality,” she added.

Rajajinagar has very few open spaces for children and senior citizens. “When I was in school, we had to go at least a kilometre in search of a playground as the school did not have playing arena. Senior citizens also need to focus on their fitness but there is no space to walk,” she observed, listing these as some of the issues that she aimed to focus. Lack of streetlights in some parts of the ward and problem of drinking water were her other priorities.

'Using her savings'
Navya’s father Umashankar is a chemist and her mother Aarathi is a homemaker. Navya is banking only on her savings for her campaigning, her father said.

“After her BCom, she worked in a private company for a few months. I have not given her any money. She is dipping into her savings. Apart from printing out pamphlets, we have not spent on anything else,” Umashankar said. Her father has been her support. When Navya expressed her interest in contesting elections, he did not stop her. “Navya had displayed her leadership qualities since childhood. She had successfully contested in college elections when she was pursuing her PU course,” Umashankar added.While pursuing her ambition in politics, Navya also aims to complete her higher education through distance mode.