Harkamalpreet Kaur, 21, an independent candidate contesting from ward number 36. Harkamalpreet Kaur, 21, an independent candidate contesting from ward number 36.

Angered by the menace of corruption in the country and in her state, Harkamalpreet Kaur, 21, a resident of Sector 68, decided to contest the Mohali Municipal Corporation elections, becoming the youngest candidate to enter the fray among a total of 189 candidates.

Harkamalpreet, who is part of the ‘Azad group’ of candidates led by Kulwant Singh and is pursuing BCom, said that she wanted to inspire youngsters to take up politics as a career so that it gets rid of the corruption tag.

“In Mohali, for example, many of the internal roads are in a bad condition, street lights are not functioning, and there is water shortage as well. If there was no corruption, we would be getting all these facilities. Therefore, I decided to fight the polls myself and bring about the change in society that people want to see,” she said.

Harkamalpreet is not alone. There are several young candidates contesting the elections this time. Sahibee Anand, 24, a BJP candidate from ward number 20, said, “I have decided to contest the elections at a young age because politics as a career is not bad when you truly want to work for the welfare of the society. I think that instead of blaming the system, one should get actively involved in it to clean from the inside.”

Another young candidate, Sarabjeet Singh Samana, 24, son of ‘Azad group’ leader Kulwant Singh, said that there a lot of civic issues which Mohali residents face and therefore, he decided to fight the elections to resolve all these problems. “I appeal to the residents to participate in these elections so that only the best candidates are chosen,” he said.

SAD candidate Harmanpreet Singh Prince, 31, who was the youngest councillor in the last civic body elections held in 2006, said, “It is very important for youngsters to come forward and participate in politics as they bring a lot of zeal and courage to the profession.”

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