Bengaluru: It’s been barely four days since Tasneem took charge as the Mayor of Mysuru and she already has grand plans in place for the historical city. The 31-year old has been representing the Meena Bazaar ward since 2013, filling the shoes of her uncle, Naseeruddin Babu, who was 3-time corporator before her.
Coming from a humble background, politics was not something young Tasneem dreamed off. But when the seat occupied by her uncle was declared as a reserved seat for women, he thought it fit to put Tasneem in-charge.
Speaking to News18, Tasneem remembers her political mentor and uncle Naseeruddin Babu’s words: “When my uncle asked me to contest, he sent me with one advice, saying you succeed in politics only if you are selfless, whatever you do, you should do it for the people”.
Tasneem seems to have her work chalked out. At a party workers meet in Bengaluru, she thanked her supporters for having voted for a Muslim women even at a time when the country is in turmoil over issues like NRC-CAA. “The BJP talks about sabka saath sabka vikas, but what are they doing? I want to remind them of their own slogan, they should practice what they preach”, she said, as crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
As the youngest city mayor, she has set for herself the target of making Mysuru the ‘cleanest city’. Currently, Mysuru stands at 22 in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 ranking; Tasneem wants to get to the No. 1. spot. “We have only till the end of January for the evaluation of the Survekshan ranking, I have been going to schools, colleges creating awareness. I need as many people to give their citizens feedback and vote for Mysuru”.
While in 2013, she won on a Congress ticket, Tasneem switched to the Janta Dal Secular (JDS) in 2018, when the coalition government was at the helm of affairs in the state. For a new-comer switching parties is often considered opportunistic, but Tasneem says her work speaks for itself.
“People in my ward have been very supportive, they know me for my work. I completed 90% of the works and also got grants worth ₹11 crores sanctioned. This time I will focus on the new areas that were added to my ward after delimitation”, she adds.
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Source: News18