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In Mumbai, The Common Man Party Pins Hope On An Unlikely Candidate

Alexandra Babiarz |
March 27, 2014 | 8:52 p.m. PDT

Contributor

Aam Aadmi Party candidate Meera Sanyal (Creative Commons)
Aam Aadmi Party candidate Meera Sanyal (Creative Commons)

The Indian anti-corruption movement, led by the Aam Aadmi Party, is India's version of the Arab Spring, said Meera Sanyal, one of the AAP's candidates for Parliament in Mumbai. 

“It is time for an Indian monsoon," Sanyal told a group of student journalists from USC. The Aam Aadmi Party, which translates to the Common Man Party, is showing that "change is possible in a peaceful, democratic way."

Sanyal is vying for the South Mumbai seat in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament. She is facing two-time MP Milind Deora of the Indian National Congress Party in the general elections, set to start on April 7.

Sanyal accused the governing Congress Party of “crony capitalism." Corruption is the main issue affecting the "common man," Sanyal said.

That’s far from what Americans fed up with Wall Street expect to hear from a banker. But Sanyal, who served as chairperson of the Royal Bank of Scotland in India before donning the AAP's white cap, called herself an "idealistic banker." Like banks in the U.S., politicians in India need to regain trust amid allegations of corruption, she said.

Will the AAP ride a wave of anti-incumbency into power? Doubtful, according to most people we spoke to in India. But that doesn't bother Sanyal.

Even if the AAP does not emerge as part of India's governing coalition, it will provide “constructive opposition” to the Congress Party or the Bharatiya Janata Party, pushing India's two biggest political parties on issues such as corruption, unemployment, and law and order, Sanyal said.

While it may not seem like her party stands a fighting chance in the upcoming general elections, Sanyal represents something that’s been missing from Indian politics: hope.

“I’d vote for her,” someone said after she left the room. 

Reach contributor Alexandra Babiarz here.



 

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