Rahul Gandhi's Kalavati asked not to contest elections

Kalavati Badurkar, who became a national name after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi talked about her in Parliament, was on Monday urged by her patron NGO not to contest election in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls.

Kalavati Badurkar, who became a national name after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi talked about her in Parliament, was on Monday urged by her patron NGO not to contest election in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls.

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"I would like to suggest you that don't take a headlong plunge in politics," Bindeshwar Pathak, head of the Sulabh International, wrote to her in a two-page letter, outlining the reasons.

"If she wishes to highlight the plight of Vidharbha, she can do so by social work," Pathak said.

Badurkar, a farmer's widow, has been receiving Rs 25,000 every month from Pathak after Gandhi highlighted her plight. She was living a life almost of destitution with her nine children after her husband committed suicide.

Pathak said his organisation gave Kalavati Rs 300,000 annually and this year too she has been given the same amount.

Kalavati, 48, was Saturday given a nomination for the Oct 13 polls by the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS). VJAS president Kishore Tiwari said that Kalavati will file her nomination from the Wani assembly constituency, around 150 km from Nagpur.