This 21-year-old from Jhansi is India's youngest panchayat election winner

Rajni Devi, at 21, is probably the youngest candidate to have won the zila panchayat election in Jhansi district. She won as an independent candidate with a margin of 5,000 votes

Talking to reporters, Rajni said that her priority was ensuring education for girls. "I want to work more for women in my area, especially for their education and check atrocities against them. In my village, people do not even allow women to go out of their homes. I want women to know about their legal rights and fight for them. They should come out and get education," she said.

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Rajni said that she contested the panchayat elections because she felt that as an elected representative, she would be able to work as a bridge between the people and the district administration. She further said, "As a resident of my village, I have closely seen the problems women face - right from domestic violence to lack of sanitation, malnutrition and financial dependence. I want to make sure that they get the benefits of government schemes that have been designed for them."