If wishes were horses...

Coimbatore, Apr 17 (UNI) People of this textile city had a brush with royal fabric, literally, when a candidate came decked up in a king's attire to file his nomination papers.

An auto driver by profession, Shivaraj Sekaran (39) arrived in style on horseback at City Corporation Office to file papers for the Coimbatore East Constituency where he hoped to get votes from his 'subjects' in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

And 'his highness' had a taste of the tight security when he got down from the equine as police, deployed in large numbers to enforce the model code of conduct, rushed towards him.

He was virtually directed to take the horse out of the complex as there was no parking space for animals.

The press then spoke to 'his majesty' who recalled the priority given by Cheras, Cholas and Pandiyas (the erstwhile ruling class) to provide water to the people by digging up a number of tanks.

But now the tanks had vanished and a number of buildings were being constructed in their place.

Sekaran said he was fighting the battle for the ballot to create awareness among the public about the importance of water sources. If elected, he would desilt all the tanks in his constituency and restore them, he said.

UNI KS VV/GM AK RN1821