Hyderabad: Politics was never her dream. The centre of her world was her only son, a soldier. But on 30 January, 60-year-old Manjula Bikkumalla, filed her nomination to contest the post of a ward councillor in Suryapet, Telangana. Politics, she now hopes, will give her life some purpose and assuage the constant grief of losing her son in Galwan.
In fact, she recalls, the day after she heard that her 37-year-old son Colonel B. Santosh Babu was killed in the clash with the Chinese in Galwan in 2020, she and her husband Upender Bikkumalla were due to set off on a pilgrimage to Gujarat.
But that day changed their lives forever.
For his extraordinary valour and playing a pivotal role in the border confrontation between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan, Colonel Santosh, then the commanding officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously.
“It’s been more than five years since my son lost his life in the Galwan battle, but the residual grief refuses to go away. Standing for the municipal election is a mental diversion for me,” she told ThePrint over a phone call on a lunch break from campaigning.
After their son’s passing, life did not offer much to Manjula and her husband, a retired State Bank of India employee. “Every wall in our house is adorned with his photograph and with just the two of us at home, the lingering pain refuses to fade,” said Upender, who now handles his wife’s campaign.
It was he who first mooted the idea of Manjula contesting. “On 27 January, a friend in the neighbouring ward told us that ours (ward) is set aside for a ‘General Mahila’ candidate. While I did not have any inclination towards politics, I thought about it for a day and then broached the idea to my wife,” Upender said.
At first, Manjula was reluctant. Having studied only up to grade 10, with little idea about her opponents from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Congress, she was unsure of her candidacy. After two days of deliberating, on 29 January, she decided to take the plunge, she said. “I am standing as a martyr’s mother, not as Manjula. Although the incident happened more than five years ago, people still remember me,” she said, choking with emotion.
“Regardless of the patriotic sentiment, my parents’ grief needed a mission. The municipal elections process has given them an opportunity to transmute personal pain into public service,” said B. Sruthi, the Late Colonel Santosh’s younger sister, an architect who lives in Hyderabad.
Taken aback at first when her mother broke the news of her contest, Sruthi later volunteered to campaign for her, pleasantly surprised by her mother’s enthusiasm and spirit.
Always one to sign up for competitions at school, Manjula said she does not have stage fright. Bolstered by her party BRS and local support, Manjula has just a week for her door-to-door campaign. The former BRS minister Jagadish Reddy has also promised to make a personal appeal on Manjula’s behalf, she said. Reddy had visited the family even at the time of their son’s death.
The Telangana government, led by chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, compensated B. Santhoshi, Santhosh’s wife by giving her a cheque of Rs 5 crore, a 500 square yard plot, and a Group I job. She now lives in Hyderabad with her two children. She works at the state secretariat, the family revealed.
The Suryapet Municipality, a Grade-I municipality in Telangana, consists of 48 wards with elected councillors. It has been a BRS party stronghold since 2014, when Telangana was carved out of the united Andhra Pradesh state.
Talking about her ward to ThePrint, Manjula said: “Our people do not want much. Suryapet has wide roads, drinking water, and no power cuts. The ward dwellers only want me to respond quickly when there is an emergency.”
Her opponents are Peddi Rama Devi from the BJP and Ganaganti Hema from the Congress; but the Opposition does not worry her. “I have been wished well by people from all parties because when it is a question of honouring a soldier, everyone’s identity is that of an Indian first,” she said getting emotional.
She does not believe in war. “It took 20 years for my son to become a Colonel. Each time there is a war, we lose so many years of collective sacrifice,” she says when asked about India’s foreign policy.
The municipal elections will be over on 11 February and the results will be declared two days later. But 13 February means more to her than the day of the results. It’s her son Santhosh’s birthday. “Sending my son to the Indian Army was my gift to the nation. My winning the ward election would be the people’s gift to him (and me),” she signs off, resuming her campaign again.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)