BA IIIrd year student in race for Zila Panchayat chief post in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: Hailing from a humble background, she is the most educated individual in her family who aspires to become teacher and help every girl in her home district Balrampur to become educated. Meet

Aarti Tiwari

(21), BA third year student who last month became

district council

member---a rare feat for a girl. Now she is set to contest the district council president election with the support of BJP.

Aarti will file her nomination on June 26 for the contest. She is the youngest among the 40 district council members in Balrampur district. The election will be held on July 3 under the supervision of the district magistrate.

Speaking to TOI,

Aarti

said, “Villages in Balrampur district are extremely under-developed. Take example of my village Parsha Karnaiti---till date no leader could build a bitumen road which could connect to district headquarter or arterial road of the district. The nearest government hospital from my village is 9 km away, while school is five km away. Literacy among girls is very low. I want to bring change in my district and ensure every girl receives education and all villages have road and better health infrastructure."

Drawing inspiration from her father Sidhant Tiwari, a farmer and uncle Shyam Manohar Tiwari who is active member of BJP and former pradhan, Aarti said, “My father is illiterate and only knows farming, however he always believed in educating girls. I’m the only one in the family who is pursuing graduation. My uncle is a social worker, his hard work has always inspired me to help others. I don’t know exactly what they saw in me to contest the election, but I believe with their help I would be able to bring change in my village and district and help other girls to grow.”

Aarti’s younger siblings are currently in school—including Santosh Tiwari (8th grade), Radha Tiwari (6th grade), Shivam Tiwari (3rd grade) and Ramji Tiwari in kindergarten. Their mother Shalini Tiwari is a house wife.

“The reason behind letting Aarti to contest election for district council was to bring youth energy, to inculcate their thoughts and carry forward the government's ambition to promote girl child. Our party leaders in Balrampur had unanimously chosen Aarti to contest with BJP support to bring change,” siad Shyam Manohar Tiwari.

Pradeep Singh, the district president of BJP Balrampur unit said, “We have decided to promote youth specially girls to lead from the front and bring changes with their efforts. We will be there to guide them. Aarti is a perfect candidate for us in Balrampur.”

After graduation, Aarti wants to pursue an MA in Sanskrit and Hindi and later become a teacher.

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