VOTERS SPEAK: Ramwati Devi

For years, Ramwati, her daughters and husband have worked hard to be able to buy their own house. It still remains a dream, she says.

In the shanty she lives in, the lack of space is one of lesser worries. Clean water and other amenities are lacking and to top it all, she fears she might be evicted and their only dwelling will be demolished, she says.

This year too she will vote for the Congress, hoping that maybe one day, she will get her own home and have enough savings to retire, she says.

On inflation
Buying basics has become such a challenge now, Ramwati says. 8220;Look at the price of tomatoes,8221; she says. 8220;They are skyrocketing.8221; She says her family survives mostly on potatoes and cooks only one meal a day, because they simply can8217;t afford the luxury of two meals.

On housing
Housing for poor and low-income groups is limited and what is available is out of bounds for them. In the slums, basic amenities are lacking and owning a house is a distant dream, she says. 8220;We don8217;t want a mansion,8221; she says. 8220;We only want a proper house.8221;

On education
Ramwati says she is paying through her nose for her son8217;s education at a private school, which charges Rs 300 a month, money that could have gone towards food for the family. Her daughter dropped out of government school. The education wasn8217;t good here so she enrolled her son in a private school, hoping that one day he will find a proper job and move out of the slums, she says.

8220;If government schools were good, why would I spend so much?8221; she asks. 8220;The system is bad. It keeps the poor in their misery forever.8221; Any government that takes over must make the education system better, she says.