Dad’s TP election defeat drives girl to suicide

TOI

Hubli, 08 January 2011: Shattered by the defeat of her father Parameshwarappa Pujar in the taluk panchayat elections, Iravva Pujar ended her life by consuming poison on Tuesday at Kanavalli village of Karjagi taluk in Haveri district.

 

Iravva, a BEd graduate, was very confident her father would win since he had worked for the welfare of the village for the past 25 years. When the results were announced, she couldn’t believe her ears. Unable to digest the defeat, she consumed poison the same day and died in a Hubli hospital on Wednesday.

 

Social worker Parameshwarappa had worked as a gram panchayat president for five years and contested in the TP elections on a Congress ticket. As his wife had a heart ailment, Iravva took the initiative and chalked out campaign plans. Iravva, who was a teacher in a convent school, was involved in aggressive campaigning for over a month. She highlighted the good work done by her father and left no stone unturned in covering each house.

 

On counting day , she was preparing a grand welcome for her father, hoping he would win. But, he came home to find she had consumed poison and shifted her to KIMS, Hubli. Parmeshwarppa told TOI: "My daughter had pinned her hopes on our people that they would elect me since I worked to develop the village. She was more confident than me about my victory. She couldn’t bear the fact I’d been defeated."