You are here: Home > Poll 2009 > Trend stories > Now, corporate honchos take on Independents

Industrialists are going the PM's way; asking people not to support Independents and vote for 'deserving' candidates

In an unprecedented move, several industrial heavyweights in south Mumbai are exhorting people to vote in the

crowd-puller: Thousands gathered during Deora's road show in south Mumbai. file pic

elections. While they may support different candidates, they are all against Independents who they feel can play a deciding role in the final results of south Mumbai by cutting into votes of other 'deserving' candidates.

Industry veterans Deepak Parekh, Adi Godrej and Uday Kotak have issued statements in support of sitting MP and Congress candidate Milind Deora. Godrej was clear on the reason behind his statement.

"I was forced to issue a public statement after I saw Independent candidates entering the fray in the south Mumbai constituency. They have very few chances of winning. They will end up drawing votes of the worthy candidates and inadvertently help an unworthy candidate win," said Godrej.

"I stay in this constituency and I believe Deora has served the people here well," he added.

Uday Kotak agreed with Godrej. "This is a national election and we want a stable government. Independents will split the votes and not help in any way. Deora is sincere; he is one of the best MPs we have today."

Praveen Chakravarty, COO, BNP Paribas Securities India, has a similar view about Independents. "The educated people are frustrated. The Independents' decision to contest the elections is emotional." However, Chakravarty is not rooting for any particular candidate.

Chakravarty and Kotak accepted that this year, people in the south Mumbai constituency have become more politically active. "We ran a campaign 'Shut up and vote', because if you do not vote, you have no right to complain," said Chakravarty. "The south Mumbai activism may be due to greater awareness and less cynicism," said Kotak.

The south Mumbai constituency has candidates such as Congress' Milind Deora, Shiv Sena's Mohan Rawle, MNS's Bala Nandgaonkar and Independent candidate Meera Sanyal, among others battling for victory.

Financiers support Kirit Somaiya
Kirit Somaiya, the BJP candidate for Mumbai North-East, has received open support from prominent chartered accountants and from Uttam Agarwal, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Former BSE chairman Anand Rathi, ex-BSE chairperson Deena Mehta and capital market analyst Gul Tekchandani are also backing Somaiya.