Citizens’ groups elect candidates for 2012 BMC polls

On Sunday morning, an organisation that associates itself with the citizen’s movement finally entered the election fray. Mumbai Nagrik Satta, formed by city’s first citizen corporator Adolf D’Souza elected Thelma D’Souza as a candidate from ward number 115.

She will be amongst rest in contesting the 2012 BMC elections.
Last Sunday, the Mumbai Nagrik Manch (MNM), another body had held elected Hina Shroff, a homemaker for ward 65, which is reserved for a female candidate.

This takes the total number of organisations associating themselves with citizens’ movement to four. The others bodies include Mumbai 227, which is has not declared any candidate. Lok Satta is the only political party had already declared three candidates.
“We will be having more candidates. This was just the beginning. Since this group had met us first, we could decide on them sooner,” said Adolf D’Souza of the Mumbai Nagrik Satta.

He added, “The crucial difference in our method is that people elect out of their free will unlike the other groups. Members of the housing society heard them and elected whom they felt was fit.”

Hansel D’Souza from MNM which had held elections last Sunday said, “We are not fighting together because we want to focus on the Area Sabha Representative (ASR) model which works on the formula of the Nagar Raj Bill. It is the only method with which efficiency in performance can be judged.” Suredra Srivastava from Lok Satta Party said that for any citizens’ movement to be successful, it has to take the form of a political party.