Civic body chiefs leave chairs vacant for Lord Ram

PRAYAGRAJ: In a unique gesture of faith, the chief of Gadwara nagar panchayat and the Sadar development block chief in Pratapgarh district have dedicated their chairs to Lord Ram. "Lord Ram runs the administrative work of our offices and we merely represent Him," is the collective sentiment of Seema Singh, 53, Gadwara nagar panchayat chief, and Shesha Devi, 65, chief of Sadar development block.

Seema Singh, who believes that she won the nagar panchayat election last year with Lord Ram's blessings, has left the chief's seat vacant for Ram and sits on another seat to carry out her routine office work.

Seema's son, Sachin, told TOI: "My mother dedicated the chief's chair to Lord Ram as she won the election of the newly created nagar panchayat Gadwara in Pratapgarh district as an independent candidate after defeating BJP candidate Naveen Singh in 2023 with the blessings of Lord Ram. During the first board meeting of the nagar panchayat on June 20, 2023, my mother decided to dedicate her chair to Lord Ram." "My mother has placed a picture of Lord Ram on the chief's chair while she sits on an adjacent chair," Sachin said. Seema has also organised grand functions and installed two idols of Lord Ram in Gadwara nagar panchayat on Jan 22, the day Ramlalla's idol was consecrated at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Similarly, Shesha Devi, block chief (block pramukh) of Sadar development block, has also been working after dedicating her chair to Lord Ram for the past three years.

Shesha's representative, Goldiee Singh, told TOI: "Shesha Devi won the election with the blessings of Ram after which she decided that the chair of block chief would be dedicated to Lord Ram, and she would sit next to his chair for her routine work. Shesha Devi, while contesting the block pramukh poll, took an oath that she would dedicate her chair to Lord Ram once she won the election. After she won, she fulfilled her promise. She performs puja to Lord Ram every day before her routine office work."