It’s election time and offering garland to candidates as gratitude or a gentle gesture is a common ritual. Sometimes, the fragrance-filled garland with a cluster of flowers can hurt and at times it can break the back literally if it (the garland) weighs more than your body weight. Vijayawada West Assembly constituency YSR Congress Party candidate Jaleel Khan is one such unfortunate politician, who broke his back thanks to the overenthusiastic followers, who garlanded him enthusiastically some 15 years back. For Jaleel, who was the Congress MLA then, the back-breaking experience made a deep impact in his lifestyle and since than he is living with the excruciating pain. While filing his nomination a couple days ago, the pain coupled with fatigue resurfaced making him lose consciousness for while.
He was hospitalised for while and the news created jitters among his followers, friends and the party bigwigs. Mr Jaleel Khan played a key role in allotting a permanent place for the flower hawkers of One Town area near the Corporation office thus streamlining their business operations. Until early 90s, the flower market was operating from the west-side of the city railway station often bringing the traffic to halt in the mornings and during the festive seasons. To express their gratitude, the flower hawkers and traders organised a felicitation for the legislator by offering with a massive garland weighing around 100 kilograms.
“The bamboo that holds the fresh flowers caused tremendous pressure on his spinal cord leading to complications in the neck flexors and extensors regions. A scan later revealed an impact on the nervous system. He turns numb when the blood circulation gets obstructed. He has been bearing the pain and the discomfort for many years,” says Jaleel’s friend Panduri Poornachandra Rao.
“He also strained himself while campaigning for the YSR Congress MP candidate Koneru Rajendra Prasad. He was too tired when he came to file his nomination. His overweight is also a reason for the discomfort,” said former corporator Maruti, who is presently in the Vangaveeti Radhakrishna camp.
