Kerala BJP fields 'Sonia Gandhi' for panchayat polls
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded a candidate named Sonia Gandhi for the upcoming panchayat election in Munnar, Kerala. The 34-year-old BJP candidate is a namesake of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. She was born to late Dure Raj, a local laborer and Congress leader who admired the then Congress president so much that he named his daughter after her. But after her marriage to Subhash, who is the BJP's panchayat general secretary, she also reportedly joined the BJP.
Career path
Sonia's political journey and current candidacy
Her husband, Subhash, had previously contested a bypoll from Old Munnar Mulakkad. Before entering politics, she worked in a shop in Munnar town. Sonia is contesting from the Nallathanni ward (Ward 16) of Munnar's local panchayat. In this election, she will be up against Congress's Manjula Ramesh and CPI(M)'s Valarmati.
Election overview
Upcoming Kerala panchayat elections and candidate details
The Kerala panchayat and local body elections will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11. The elections will be held across the state's 941gm panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 87 municipalities, and six corporations. BJP's Sonia is among over 75,000 candidates contesting for more than 21,000 wards from major political fronts such as the Left Democratic Front (LDF), United Democratic Front (UDF), and National Democratic Alliance (NDA).