The Bombay Parsi Panchayat polls for seven trustees that took place on Sunday saw four new people elected to the BPP trusteeship. The newbies, not novices in terms of work, acknowledged the greater bandwidth and power the seat gives them, adding that they need to leverage that with caution and responsibility.

Anahita Desai, who polled 5,547 votes, highest among the contestants, said, “I am honoured that so many people felt I am fit for the job, but that brings with it responsibility and the weight of people’s expectations.” Desai added that it was time to bring the curtain down on the “politicking” and certain agendas being pushed within the BPP, resulting in internecine strife. “The community is sick of it. I want to see the BPP in robust financial health now. Credibility has been lost to some degree because of the infighting, and donations have been drying up. We have to get the Panchayat back on track in these aspects,” she said.