warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

In Mumbai, A Banker Who Decries 'Corrupt' Political Arena

Matt Hamilton |
March 24, 2014 | 9:03 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Meera Sanyal worked as a banker for more than three decades before entering politics in 2009. (Wikimedia Commons)
Meera Sanyal worked as a banker for more than three decades before entering politics in 2009. (Wikimedia Commons)

There's a new entrant to the Indian political party scene, and it's mobilizing support around one issue: eradicating corruption. 

Meet the Aam Aadmi Party, translated as the Common Man Party. As the name suggests, the party offers an idealistic vision for this highly stratified country, and its candidate for South Mumbai is Meera Sanyal.

Sanyal, 52, met with USC journalists at the newsroom of The Indian Express, and told us that what sparked her decision to enter politics were the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, most of which occurred in her district. In 2009, she ran as an Independent, but lost. 

When the AAP formed in 2012 - lead by Arvind Kejriwal - Sanyal said she was taken by the party's mission.

"There's no one else to vote for," Sanyal said, critiquing the endemic "crony capitalism" that benefits elites at the expense of India's poor. "We've had 65 years of very poor governance."

She met Kejriwal, a Delhi-based politician, in May, and late last year, announced she was joining the AAP and running against incumbent Milind Deora for the South Mumbai legislative post. 

High on her list of priorities are improving public safety, building out public infrastructure like roads and sewage, and widening access to education. But the party's principal thrust is a railing against corruption, which Sanyal described as both a matter of convenience and necessity as she highlighted one statistic that was emblematic of the status quo.

"Sixty percent of our parliament is either people with criminal charges against them, or sons and daughters of politicians," Sanyal said. "Let me tell you, that is not my India."

AAP supporters don white caps with slogans like 'I want self rule', which Sanyal showed off before us student journalists around the table. Her opponent, Deora, accused the AAP of prioritizing ideals over governance when the party's leader, Kejriwal, cited a political disagreement when he resigned from his post as Chief Minister of Delhi after 50 days of rule.

To Deora's claims, Sanyal forcefully declared Kejriwal's resignation as a matter of integrity, while highlighting his accomplishments during 50 days in office. And throughout the hour-long interview, Sanyal was direct but genial, pushing back against vague lines of questioning and asserting the strength of her candidacy against allegations of blind idealism or utopianism. 

South Mumbai is a rather posh district, and Sanyal herself is an INSEAD-educated banker - two factors that belie her status as the "common man" candidate. But Sanyal dismissed any accusation of elitism, instead focusing on her "very good" record as a banker and her general experience in business as helpful, especially in tackling the country's unemployment crisis.

"India can't create 300 million jobs but it can create 300 million entrepreneurs," Sanyal said.

India is a country of multiple political parties, so the idea of a minority party isn't necessarily novel. A dominant party typically garners 20 to 40 percent of the vote, and secures a majority by forging alliances with a patchwork of regional parties. The coming elections are expected to be dominated by the Congress party - home of the Gandhi family and her opponent, Deora - and the BJP, whose candidate is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Does this crowded arena leave room for the anti-corruption activism of the AAP? Sanyal said she is hopeful.

"People are talking about a third front," Sanyal said, carefully combing her hair back into a ponytail. "For the first time, this is a citizen's front. We are now a credible, national alternative."

Reach Staff Reporter Matt Hamilton here. Follow him on Twitter @mattHjourno.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.