IAC away from campaign,but makes bid to increase turnout

IAC members admitted that the fiasco of the agitation at MMRDA grounds has created hesitation in the minds in IAC leaders,who do not want to take any chance right now. “The failure in Mumbai has been a setback for us and people’s perception of us has changed. At present,a fatigue has set in among the members,who are wary of doing anything too grand,” said a member.

However,Praful Vora from IAC Mumbai unit said they have been working on the concept of Nagrik Samitis over the past couple of months. “There will be Nagrik Samitis in every ward. Its members will be our volunteers who will go to people and inform them about their candidates and urge them to come out and vote and make an informed choice,” he said.

IAC is also relying on some organisations such as Praja and Mumbai Votes,who are collecting data on corporators and putting them up on their websites. IAC Mumbai convenor Mayank Gandhi said,“We will use this data in our drive to inform voters about tainted candidates. We are going to ask voters to be person-specific,instead of party-specific,and not vote for corrupt candidates,” he said.

As seen during the previous agitations for the Jan Lokpal Bill,the IAC has not planned any major social media campaign. “How many people use the social media? Instead,we are talking to people at the railway stations,on the roads etc. Awareness is high in a city like Mumbai so we don’t need to beat the drums very loudly. IAC Mumbai has a page on Facebook and we will make use of it for the BMC elections as and when necessary,” said Vora.

Santosh Awatramani,an IAC volunteer who is also a part of Mumbai 227,said top IAC members have taken a decision to not let its banner be used by any citizen candidates platform.