Will aam aadmi replace a neta?

Group plans to nominate and elect a citizen activist instead of a neta in the Assembly polls; carries out survey to know people's opinion

u00a0If certain activists have their way, an independent citizen could represent the Andheri west constituency, A 165, in the state legislative assembly.

Jagruk Nagrik Manch (JNM), an organisation, which serves as a common platform for NGOs, ALMs and other citizen groups, is carrying out a survey in the constituency to determine whether people are willing to support a citizen activist over a candidate from a political party.

The process

JNM activists have divided the constituency into seven zones and dispatched teams armed with questionnaires to collect the data.

"The survey is half complete. We will know the people's verdict in two weeks. Then we will have a public gathering and a secret ballot to decide who will be our representative," said Kumar Pravesh, JNM.

"We will select our candidate on the basis of their contribution to civic and social issues," added fellow activist Mayank Gandhi, saying that they aim to finalise their candidate by mid-July. "That would give us enough time to build a campaign around the candidate."

Past success

JNM had first tried this model during the February 2007 civic elections.

Said Gandhi, "In the February 2007 civic elections, Juhu residents elected Mumbai's first citizen corporator by consensus. We hope to replicate that success in the forthcoming state Assembly elections."

The same Juhu ward is now one of the seven wards of the Andheri west constituency.

Explaining the motive behind their initiative, Gandhi said, "Our attempt to get a citizens' consensus candidate is aimed at demonstrating to the country that it is still possible to elect a person without the use of money, muscle, criminals or a divisive agenda."

The slum factor

Getting support from the slums for this initiative is difficult, as the dwellers are easy prey for manipulation by political parties.

But the JNM is confident that in the end, the division of votes will benefit their candidate.

"In the last Lok Sabha elections, Gilbert Hill u00a0slums supported the Samajwadi Party while Nehru Nagar voted for Congress.

Our volunteers will also educate the slumdwellers on how politicians exploit them year after year," added Gandhi.