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This story is from April 14, 2014

‘You think it’s time for a change? Give Meera Sanyal a chance’

It was Mumbai South’s Aam Aadmi Party candidate Meera Sanyal’s first official visit to Lalbaug, a traditional Shiv Sena stronghold, and her work was clearly cut out for her.
‘You think it’s time for a change? Give Meera Sanyal a chance’
MUMBAI: It was Mumbai South’s Aam Aadmi Party candidate Meera Sanyal’s first official visit to Lalbaug, a traditional Shiv Sena stronghold, and her work was clearly cut out for her. After hearing her speech, Shailesh Sawant, a resident of Lalbaugcha Raja Cooperative Housing Society, remained unconvinced. “I’ve never seen her before,” he said. “Our party is Shiv Sena. After all, Bal Thackeray was the first person to fight for the aam aadmi.”
Sanyal, former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, had stood for elections as an Independent in 2009 after a colleague was killed during the 26/11 terrorist attacks.
“I felt the time had come for people like us to stop criticizing the system, or taking part in candle-light marches, but to take a stand for what we believed in,” writes Sanyal on her website. She lost in 2009 to Congress MP, Milind Deora, who has concentrated on cluster redevelopment schemes like the Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment plan and was at the helm of the ‘Save Campa Cola’ campaign. Besides Deora, her opponents in this election include Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Bala Nandgaonkar, who was runner-up in the last election, and Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant, a two-time MLA.
“If you feel your elected representatives have served you, your children, this area, city and country well, then by all means vote for them,” Sanyal told voters during the padyatra in the area, stopping for photo-ops at chai stalls and spice shops and coaxing children to don ‘aam aadmi topis’ while her party workers sang a version of ‘Hum Honge Kaamiyab’ that had been modified to ‘Laaenge Jan Lokpal’.
“But if you feel it is time for change, give AAP and Meera Sanyal a chance.” On what gives her an edge over her opponents, Sanyal replied, “I am the only candidate talking about issues and presenting concrete solutions, instead of pointing fingers at other candidates.” Over the last five years, Sanyal claims she has been studying the challenges faced by her constituency, city, and country and looking for workable solutions that have been implemented in other parts of the world. “For instance, cities in developing countries are increasingly constructing infrastructure for pedestrians instead of cars,” she pointed out.
In the last five years, however, Sanyal has failed to learn Marathi. Occasionally, she handed over the mike to a party worker, who would translate her speech for the handful of residents, who appeared at window sills. While many were charmed by her warm demeanor, few knew much about the party or its candidate. Even those who did expressed skepticism the moment she was out of earshot. “She seems like a good person,” said Pradeep Mishra, “but AAP couldn’t even rule Delhi for six months, how will they rule the country?” One old woman in a bright pink sari, however, told TOI: “AAP is going to win. I’m voting for them.”
Throughout the padyatra — Sanyal is racing against time to complete a round of the entire constituency on foot — she was clearly enjoying herself and refused to get perturbed even when her mike stopped working. At one point, she slipped into a tea stall to drink a glass of ‘kesari ukala’. “It’s good, you should try it,” she told a party worker. “Ma’am it’s nothing new for us, we drink tea at roadside stalls everyday,” he pointed out.
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