Despite being adjudged the best corporator in a survey carried out by the Praja Foundation last November,Congress corporator from Mahim (ward 182) Meena Desai has been denied a ticket to re-contest the upcoming BMC polls. Former Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) secretary Ajit Sawant,who lobbied aggressively for her nomination,has now been shown the door by the party after his vocal allegations against Congress leaders like Kripashankar Singh. The seat has been given to Samadhan Sarvankar,son of former MLA Sada Sarvankar who shifted loyalty from Shiv Sena to Congress in 2010. Bent on taking on who she calls a few corrupt leaders in Congress,Desai is now contesting as an independent and is keen on winning. You were declared the best corporator as per the Praja survey,where you scored highly in perceived performance,attendance and the quality of questions asked. Why then,do you think,did the party not give you a ticket? On the face of it,they said the seat has not been given to me because its reservation has been changed to open. Senior leaders told me that Congress does not want to give candidature from open seats to women. But doesnt that defeat the purpose of reservation? An open seat means anyone can contest from that ward,irrespective of gender. All other parties,including our alliance partner NCP,has given open ward tickets to strong women candidates in these areas. In fact,the president of the Congress party at the national level is a woman. Then why was this injustice done to me? Who do you think is responsible for the party denying you a ticket? I am confident that MP Eknath Gaikwad ensured that I do not get a ticket. I blame him the most for this. He has been against me for over three years now. Because of him,I never got membership in any of the important committees in the BMC. Uneducated Congress members are a part of the BMCs education committee,but despite my educational qualifications,I was never made a part of it. The other main faces of Mumbai unit have also ensured I do not get a ticket. You will be pitted against Samadhan Sarvankar. What are your views about his candidature and what are your chances of winning? Congress tickets have been bought this time. Instead of giving the ticket to a loyalist like me,Congress chose to give it to a complete newcomer who happens to be the son of a former Shiv Sena MLA. How is it fair? In fact,till about three months back,Samadhan was seen putting up pro-Sena banners in my area about Senas stand against renaming of Dadar station. My sources tell me he was trying hard for a Sena ticket,but did not get it. I am totally disillusioned by what has happened. However,I am sure to give a tough fight to all the candidates in this ward and I am sure I will win because I have done a lot of good work in my ward,especially in reducing the menace of the water tanker lobby in my area and improving supply. A lot of people are supporting me. The adjoining ward 181 is now reserved for Women-Open from where Congress ticket has gone to Amina Kunatil. Why were you not considered for that ward? I am telling you,it was a ploy to not give me a ticket. Moreover,I have worked in my constituency only,so personally I will feel uncomfortable contesting from another ward. Just like I feel dislodged,someone else would have felt the same if I were contesting from 181. Your ward has been a traditional Sena ward until you got elected from here? What do you think is the fate of this ward now? The entire Mahim assembly constituency is a Sena bastion and my ward has always been a Sena ward till I broke their stronghold in 2007. They are now giving it to a former Sena person. The party clearly lacks vision and direction and voters will be smart enough to notice this while casting their vote. How does it feel having to quit the Congress party? I feel very sad. I have been working for this party since 1985. I am not against the Congress,but I am fed up of the few corrupt leaders in its Mumbai Unit who do not favour merit among workers. I have worked day and night as a Congress corporator and will continue to do so if elected as an Independent.
