By Rehan Ansari, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: It’s the night before the closure of high voltage campaign for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation election. Bearded with white Kurta Salwar Mushir Ansari, 58 was sitting in the office of Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena, MNS in Madanpura, a Muslim dominated area in South Mumbai.
Mushir Ansari filed his nomination forms as an independent candidate from ward number 206 and it was really shocking to see him heading the campaign for the MNS candidate.
When Twocircles.net asked him about this turnaround, his reply was really heartening. It exposed the whole system on which our electoral politics is based on. It also explains why team Anna did not accept the challenge of entering into electoral politics.
Mushir Ansari
Mushir a retired government employee is a known social worker in the area. He said, “When I saw that people who appreciated my will as an independent candidate, wanted something in return. Poor people selling their votes in few thousands rupees, youth ready to provide their services and sell their five years in twenty thousand, I re-assessed myself. I found myself sound socially but economically I was not qualified so I withdrew my nomination.”
The other technical problem this time, is distribution of symbol to independent candidates. He said, “the Election commission issued symbol hardly 10 days before the polling to independent candidates which is not enough for people like us.”
He said, “I had been working for the community since 1967 and also associated with politics but the horrific incident of the demolition of Babri Mosque and the communal riots thereafter broke my heart.”
Mushir was traumatized by the politics of hatred and violence, therefore he turned to social work again. He has also worked with the Mohalla Committee formed by the Julio F Ribeiro, the head of Mumbai Police. He continuously kept thinking that good people must enter politics to bring about the change. When Abu Asim Azmi launched Samajwadi Party, he was asked to join to break Congress Monopoly over secular votes.
Mushir Said, “After the dubious role of Congress in the Babri Mosque issue I joined SP also continued helping people to get Other Backward Classes, OBC, Certificates.”
Mushir is dissatisfied and sadden to see the working style of political parties. “The situation is gloomy and grim in all the political parties. No one likes to politically empower the poor or an honest worker. Only Money and Muscle power works here or you should be a good lobbyist or yes-man or a family member of the bosses to qualify for contesting election.”
Dismayed but not out, Mushir kept trying to contest corporation election time and again but failed to get the ticket of any political party. Sharing his political experience Mushir said, “The dynamics of politics is changing very fast. Earlier we used to respect the corporators or MLAs and I have seen poor but hard working social worker winning election but now it’s almost impossible.”
He also shared another observation about selective secularism. He said, “With certain exception no party give tickets to Muslims from Majority community areas, although the case is different when it comes to Minority dominated areas.”
He is also sympathetic but critical of Urdu Newspaper because of their election coverage. He said, “We know that Urdu dailies are financially weak and do not get proportionate government or community support but selling editorial space during election, is a criminal act.”
Elaborating on the decision of Maharashtra government where fifty per cent seats are reserved for women in the local self government he said, “This decision will shrink the chances of Muslim representation in politics further.”
Mushir did not lose hope in the system. He said, “instead of all these experiences I haven’t lost hope and am still associated with a growing political party. I have hope with the generation Next, who came out in thousands against the corruption.”
Mushir added, “I also have the hope in our people who despite all this odd are teaching the lesson to the political parties.”