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Her IIM education, her big bindis and her dramatic electoral campaign set Mallika Sarabhai apart from the run-of-the mill netas. Hemal Ashar catches up with this Independent from Gandhinagar as she gets set for the big fight against L K Advani
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have criticised Independent candidates calling them spoilers, but this  election season Indepedents are hogging the limelight like never before. One such candidate is dancer-turned-politician Mallika Sarabhai. Pitted against BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, Sarabhai has pepped up the Gandhinagar elections, quite literally with her unique election campaign, which saw fewer speeches and more dance and drama. As Gujarat readies for the polls on April 30, Sarabhai hopes that she finds a way into people's hearts
Independent candidates like you are looked at as stereotypical laughable debutantes trying their luck in politics rather than serious contenders.
We need to fight lazy cynicism and change the paradigm. That is what I am trying to do.
Dancers, actors, doctors and professionals are contesting this time. What is your take on this change in candidature?
It is great to see artistes taking interest in politics as long as they fight for a transparent system, which is answerable to the public; and is not filled with hatred.
As a vocal critic of Narendra Modi how has life changed for the layman after the 2002 riots in Gujarat?
Fear makes Muslims not look you in the eye. A small traffic infringement can turn into a riot; anger levels and anxiety levels lead to rage that erupts within seconds. A driver can be lynched to death by a mob, or a policeman trying to organise a queue can be attacked.
There are many who see secularism as a way to appease Muslims and other minorities. These feelings have hardened after 26/11. Comment.
Over 30 years politicians have instilled insecurity and fear among the common man. They have brought out the dark side of mankind so that they can play with us like puppets. We need to reclaim our better selves.
The electorate wants action. What makes you different from others in the fray?
My plan of action is not a set of empty promises. I have a set plan for all sections of the electorate in my constituency.
The common man is skeptical and cynical of politics and politicians. Can anything change?
The common man wants change and at the ground level there is much hope. I think they need a reason to be hopeful; they need promising candidates who they can pin their hopes on.
You have charges of human trafficking against you. You say a student fabricated them?
Manushi Shah, a former part-time student brought up charges in 2003 that I cheated her. The state police even pursued this absurd charge; the state harassed me for having filed the PIL after the Godhra riots in 2002. In the Supreme Court the charges against me were quashed for lack of evidence. | 
