The Hindu
- Raju Poojary and Sujatha Vasudeva defeat BJP candidates
- The house has 13 Congress and 12 BJP members
- New chief promises priority to infrastructure
Udupi, Sep 25: Raju Poojary and Sujatha Vasudeva of the Congress party were elected president and vice-president of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat here on Monday.
Poojary and Sujatha defeated Gerald Fernandes and N B Babu of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by securing 13 votes each. Fernandes and Babu secured 11 votes each.
In a house of 25 members, the Congress has 13 members and the BJP 12. One member of the BJP, Gladys Almeida, was absent thereby bringing down its tally by one vote.
Speaking to presspersons after his election, Poojary said he would give importance to the development of infrastructure in the district. Top priority would be given to address the water problem. The zilla Panchayat would also give importance to the repair of roads.
He would ask the National Highways Department to take up repair work on National Highway 17, Poojary said.
Raju Poojary, a commerce graduate from the Bhandarkar’s College in Kundapur, entered politics in 1987.
He was the president of the Byndoor Block Youth Congress between 1989 and 1999. He has been a member and secretary of the Udupi District Congress Committee since 1998.
Poojary was first elected as member of Udupi Zilla Panchayat in 2000 from Shiroor. He was elected member for the second time from Byndoor in 2005. He served as chairman of the ZP Standing Committees on Social Justice, and Health and Education.
Poojary has also worked in the co-operative sector. He has been the president of the Marvanthe Badakere Vyavasaya Sahakari Bank from 1995.
He served as the director of Kundapur Taluk Agricultural Produce Marketing Society for two-and-a-half years. He has been the president of Yedthare Milk Producers Association for the last two years.
Sujatha Vasudeva was elected to the zilla panchayat for the first time in 2005 from Koteshwara. She has served as the secretary of the Navodaya Self Help Group. She did her Pre-University from Kota Pre-University College.