Will Saguna Talandi be first woman MLA from Gadchiroli?

NAGPUR: Saguna Talandi, who is contesting the election from Gadchiroli on Congress ticket, has already created a record of being the only woman candidate who is in the fray for the third time from the Naxal-affected district where participation in the democratic process is viewed as a life threatening move. She has been favoured over sitting MLA Dr Namdeo Usendi who made an unsuccessful foray in the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year.
Saguna (47) is a member of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Her husband Pentaji was a former MLA from Sironcha in South Gadchiroli. She now wants to create history on October 19 by becoming the first %woman MLA from this assembly constituency.
Apart from Saguna, only three other women had fought the state election from here in the past. Premila Gawde was the first to fight the election as an independent in 1990 while Rajani Warthe, representing RPI, was in the fray in 1995.
The Congress party had first given her ticket in 1999 from her hometown Sironcha. She lost that election by a slender margin of around 275 votes. One of her opponents was Anandabai Madavi who too lost the election. In 2004, Saguna contested the election from the same constituency but on Samajwadi Party ticket. However, she lost by a huge margin. She missed the bus after the delimitation exercise in 2009 because the Aheri constituency ticket was given to NCP candidate as per the seat sharing arrangement with Congress.
Besides rejection of ticket to sitting MLA Dr Usendi, Saguna's candidature is mired in controversy because she would be fighting from Gadchiroli despite being a native of Sironcha.
Replying to TOI's query on the issue, Saguna stated that she had been staying in Gadchiroli town for more than a decade and working here. "My political career spans over three decades, beginning with being elected as the gram panchayat member in mid 80s," said Saguna.
Saguna claims she has enough experience of fighting elections even at local civic bodies. "I had won two seats in Panchayat Samiti election in 1996-97 from Jinganur and Sironcha circles before being elected as chairperson of the civic body," she said.