Korba: Amid the perceived bilateral contest in Korba Lok Sabha constituency between the BJP and Congress stalwarts, a tribal woman with zero bank balance has entered the fray to try her luck in the mega festival of democracy. Jyotsna Mahant from Congress and Saroj Pandey from BJP-both millionaires-are in the fray in Korba in a perceived “direct fight” between the two. But, tribal woman Shanti Maravi from Marwahi has also filed nomination to contest Lok Sabha elections. In mega elections like the ongoing Lok Sabha polls where money and muscle power is much talked about, Shanti has zero balance in her account and only Rs 20,000 in cash. With limited resources, she is going to compete with crorepati women candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.
Class 5 Pass Tribal Woman: Shanti Bai Maravi, a woman candidate from Gaurela Pendra Marwahi, is from Korba Lok Sabha seat. Shanti Bai is a farmer by profession. 33-year-old Shanti Bai Maravi has studied up to class 5 from a government school.
Not a Single Rupee in Bank Account: Shanti Bai is a daily wage worker. Her household expenses are met from the income from farming. Currently, Shanti Bai has only Rs 20,000 in cash to contest the election. Apart from this, she has no other cash. Shanti has an account in the Bank of Baroda's Pendra branch. There is not even a single rupee in it.
In terms of immovable property too, Shanti is far behind the main candidates of BJP and Congress. She has about one and a half acres of agricultural land, only 10 grams of gold and 50 grams of silver. Shanti Bai Maravi is contesting the election as an independent candidate.
No Account on Social Media Either: In the era of election campaigns on social media, Shanti Bai Maravi, who comes from the tribal class, does not operate any account of her own on any social media platform. She does not have an account on Facebook or X. She does not even have a PAN number. It remains to be seen how she carries out her election campaign.
When a call was made to Shanti Bai's number 7999591052 for her comments on the matter, her number was found switched off.
With regard to the main candidates of BJP and Congress contesting from Korba Lok Sabha, both are crorepatis. Congress candidate Jyotsna Mahant has property worth 9.17 crores and BJP candidate Saroj has property worth 2.87 crores. Jyotsna Mahant has submitted that her husband Charan Das Mahant has Rs 8,79, 43,420 worth of property. BJP candidate Saroj Pandey has property worth Rs 28717 770.
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