Money, muscle deter newbies

A group of enthusiastic debutante citizen candidates, who had contested the April-May Lok Sabha elections, and even formed their own parties, now feel like cats who have stepped on hot milk. They were the stars fighting the sitting MPs then, but, of the three new parties formed to contest the parliamentary elections, only one is in the assembly poll fray now.

Members of parties like the Jaago Party and the Bharat Uday Mission (BUM) feel they don’t have the money, nor the muscle power to impact the elections. “Elections are a money-intensive exercise. Only those who can manage to raise funds or have their own money can enter it,” said Rishi Agarwal, a prominent environmentalist who stood for the Jaago Party in the Mumbai North West constituency. Agarwal said that the apathy of the citizens and the society is failing them.

“People want money, mutton parties and alcohol in return for their votes. There’s no understanding of a democracy,” said Alkpita Paranjpe, who stood for BUM from the Mumbai South Central constituency. “They give more importance to cricket matches than hearing out the people they will elect. Why should I, then, leave my profession and get into politics?” asked Agarwal.

The only citizen party to contest this time, the Professional Party of India (PPI), has put up only one candidate. “We are very selective in our approach, and this way, we realise we can concentrate our efforts better,” said Santosh Awtaramani, who is contesting from the Malabar Hill constituency.

On hindsight, there is a feeling that debuting in the assembly elections could have yielded better results, said Paranjpe. Jaago, BUM and PPI now intend to fight all the seats in corporation elections.