Arima Mayor Balliram Maharaj said he sees nothing wrong with his appearance at the UNC’s fundraising Christmas dinner on December 13 at the Dennis P Ramdhan Complex, Couva.

He said his loneliness following his wife's death is what led him to attend the dinner as a guest of his nephew.

The prominent Arima businessman was sworn in on September 2023 on a PNM ticket, but was photographed posing with the Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Phillip Alexander, at the dinner. The picture has since been making the rounds on social media.