Away from the limelight and political support for NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu or UPA’s Yashwant Sinha, Raju Das, 47, from Panchgram in Hailakhandi district of south Assam, has entered the fray of Presidential polls quietly, just to give “proper representation to his state on the national platform”.
As News18 spoke to Das, he was in a hurry to travel several miles to donate blood for an expecting mother.
“Our representatives to the state assembly and parliament have failed us. They have not been able to raise our issues on the national platform. My wish is that Assam and my hometown Barak Valley should get the attention it deserves. Recently, when Silchar faced the worst floods in the recent history, the political drama of Maharashtra politics was unfolding at a hotel in Guwahati. Ironically, the politics got the upper hand as far as representation on the national platform was concerned. This is sad as there should be parity. I strongly believe the President should level these differences,” says Das.
Das, the arts graduate who owns a pan shop in the industrial township of Panchgram, has high hopes from Murmu.
“Murmu belongs to a tribal-dominated area and Assam has a fair representation of the tea garden community. She would understand the backwardness of our state,” he said.
Das is actively involved in social service and says that his wife and son, who doing his 4th semester graduation, support his work.
“I don’t have the support of the MPs and MLAs, but the nomination requires the candidate to attain the age of 35 and deposit an amount of Rs 15,000. I am independent and have no political affiliation,” he said. “I am happy to just do my bit.”
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