Ireland-based techie returns home to Telangana to contest as sarpanch

NIZAMABAD: When one’s own family refuses to give the much-needed support, it can be extremely discouraging and demoralising. But this young woman is undeterred by such negative attitude and reaction, because her sole objective is to serve the people of the village she grew up in.

Twenty-four-year-old Sushmitha Naidu, who is working with a software company in Ireland, returned to her native Yedapally village to contest as a sarpanch in the upcoming gram panchayat elections.

Interestingly, her father Shankar Naidu, who served in various capacities during his 35-year political career with Congress and whose second term as the sarpanch ended in 2018, has also not come out openly to support Sushmitha in her bid to run for the post of panchayat head. In fact, Shankar and his supporters were on the lookout for a suitable candidate as Yedapally, a prominent village in Nizamabad district under Bodhan revenue division, is reserved for BC women this time. 

Hearing about the situation, Sushmitha immediately expressed her desire to contest in the elections. Lengthy discussions and deliberations followed, all during her telephonic conversations from Ireland.

The response, obviously, was not positive — family members discouraged her from entering politics, relatives and well-wishers advised her to not give up a well-paid and secure job. But Sushmitha made up her mind. Despite opposition from everyone, she returned her native, started her preparations for the polls and filed her nomination papers too.

Subshmitha — who had completed her schooling in Bodhan town, and degree and MBA in Project Management in Hyderabad before moving abroad to work as a technical support engineer with HCL Ireland — wants to develop Yedapally as a model village.

The young techie surely has a vision for development.

“My father did his bit for the development of our village. But there is still a lot to be done. We have to work with even more better planning and ambition to achieve comprehensive development for the village,” she said.

She also very clear about the idea of youth entering the politics and contributing to the overall development.

“As a professional any one can get huge salaries and lead luxurious life. But everyone will not be satisfied with that kind of life. But when you enter public service, even small things can give you immense satisfaction,” she added.

“I firmly believe that youth should contest in the local body elections to serve the public. It’s an opportunity to prove their leadership qualities and help their villages to achieve the overall development,’’ Sushmitha said. 

Referring to her not getting expected support from her family members, she said with a wry smile: “All of them have not been very supportive. Even my father is not ready to give me any tips either on politics or on elections.”

“All they said was, ‘in politics everyone should learn on their own’ from their day to day interaction with the people’. Since I know everyone in the village, I am confident, with help of a group of friends, I will be able to launch a successful campaign,’’ she said.