Kumbakonam's First Mayor is An Auto Driver

K Saravanan, a 42-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, was sworn in as the first Mayor of Kumbakonam Corporation in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Kumbakonam.

Chennai: K Saravanan, an autorickshaw driver who was recently elected mayor of the Kumbakonam municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta region, says, "I would love to continue to serve people, my regular customers, by driving an autorickshaw."

"When I was elected mayor, my regular customers were happy. But they wondered as to how they could expect me to drive an autorickshaw for them", he explained.

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Although the government has provided him with an SUV and a driver for official purposes, Saravanan says he has one wish: to serve his customers.

He claims that out of the approximately 1,200 households in his 17th ward of the company, at least 100 are close to him and have always used his services.

A doctor and a school principal are just two of Saravanan's numerous regular customers.

He told the media, "My desire is that I should continue to serve them by taking them in my autorickshaw as and when possible."

Now, he says he's trying to figure out what his official function is and how much time he'll need to perform his mayoral duties.

He also claims to be setting up objectives for the welfare of the people, such as renovating the subterranean drainage system. Saravanan, 42, says that once things fall into place, he would love to use his spare time to help people by driving an autorickshaw.

"Even now, his autorickshaw is not idle and a relative is now driving it for my customers. I have told people that they may please continue to call me for their requirements," he says with a smile.

He attributes his achievement to a good awareness of the city's topography, civic difficulties, people's expectations, and duties that needed immediate attention, as well as his dedicated labour for the party throughout the years and his leaders' faith in him.

Twenty years as an auto-driver in Kumbakonam have taken him to every nook and crevice of the delta town, and he has amassed a wealth of knowledge about the city and its people. Saravanan drove his autorickshaw to the corporation office to take office on March 4 after being voted mayor by ward members.

Out of the total 2,100 votes cast in the 17th ward, a Congress candidate received 964 votes and won. Saravanan was the first ward member to win elections and then be elected mayor. He was Kumbakonam Corporation's first mayor.

Civic elections were held in February this year after the government converted Kumbakonam municipality to a municipal corporation in December 2021.

Saravanan is from a Congress family and is the city deputy president of the national party, which he has been a member of for the past 20 years.

"I started from the basic level, working at the level of ward in the party, worked for the youth Congress, grew in a phased manner, and today I am shouldering this responsibility." The DMK gave the Congress party two wards out of a total of 48, and both of the national party's nominees won.

Saravanan attended school till the sixth grade, is married, and lives in a leased house on Thukkampalayam Street in Kumbakonam with his wife and three sons.

The DMK-led alliance won the Kumabakonam municipal corporation, as well as 20 other Tamil Nadu municipal corporations.