Mumbai edit: 2012, the year of the voter

AD 2011 was the year of protest, not just in India, but also in many parts of the world, including the US and Russia. It was the year when people refused to take things lying down and poured into the streets to force their rulers to listen. They were successful in some cases, not so successful in others. But the appetite of the citizen for change, positive change, was whetted.

AD 2012 may well be the year of the electorate, at least in India.

Six states go to the polls this year along with the Mumbai municipal corporation, an entity bigger than some of India’s smaller states in financial and population terms. So 2012 may be the year that tests our resolve to engage with the country’s polity.

For, everyone is happy to protest; that’s the easy part in India, where you are unlikely to be met with a hail of bullets for demonstrating in the streets, as protestors in the Arab world were. But the more difficult, and more fulfilling, part is when you exercise your franchise under the Constitution and throw out those who failed to live up to your expectations.

Mumbai gave the cold shoulder to Anna Hazare and his team when they shifted their campaign here in an ill-timed move in the last week of December, but February will give Mumbaikars a chance to show the rest of India that they mean business. If you have ideas on how to improve the city and can make the time, contest the BMC election. If not, come out on voting day and choose a candidate who can make a difference.

This could be the year the Mumbaikar takes her city back from career politicians. Make it happen.