NRI quits job to become sarpanch in Rajasthan

Jaipur: The minimum qualification for candidates in Panchayat elections set by Rajasthan government may not have gone down well with the opposition, but surely it has woken up the rural folks in the state to the benefit of being educated.

The order requires candidates contesting Panchayat elections must have studied minimum Class 8 in school and members of the Panchayat Samiti, which governs a group of villages, to have completed Class 10.

The High Court too has refused to interfere with the government order.

Several aspirants in the polls had to bow out of the contest due to their being ineligible as per the new rule. This stipulation may have changed the political fate of many in the state but surely it has changed the fortunes of an NRI from Australia forever. Hanuman Chaudhary who was a hotel management professional in Australia’s Gold Coast was urgently summoned to his native village of Nagaur in Rajasthan by his father Bhura Ram due to this very rule.

The villagers wanted an educated person to be the Panchayat head so they phoned me constantly. I sought the advice of my brother, who said that this is an opportunity to do social work. I thought over and said to myself that there can be no better way to serve my people and country and decided to return to India and contest the polls in my state, said Chaudhary.

I was earning over rupees three crores annually in Australia, but I decided to return. We did a planned campaign and avoided caste based issues. I only took up development issues and programmes. This appealed to the voters who were actually divided on Jat versus Rajput lines. I won by a big margin of 6000 votes.

I impressed upon the youth that education was the most essential part in one’s life. If a Panchayat member is not educated how will he interact with the district officers or state politicians? As I could speak English well, the youth were impressed and voted for me in large numbers, said Chaudhary. Though it looks like Hanuman Chaudhary has proved to be good patriotic Indian, it remains to be seen if he can counter all the tough politics in India.