Mumbai underground: A notable exception

The Gujarat Chief Minister follows over 1,000 tweeters, mostly BJP office-bearers and workers.

Although many Aam Aadmi Party leaders are on microblogging site Twitter, Mumbai South constituency candidate Meera Sanyal is the only one to be followed by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. In fact, apart from former Shiv Sena leader Rahul Narvekar who joined the NCP last week, Sanyal is the only political leader outside the BJP to be followed on the site by Modi. The Gujarat Chief Minister follows over 1,000 tweeters, mostly BJP office-bearers and workers. Meera Sanyal said, “I am glad he is listening to the voice of at least one aam aurat of this country.”

Reality bites bites
Former BMC corporator and sitting member of legislative council Ashish Shelar has always defended the work done by the BMC, which is ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. However, a tweet by Shelar, who is also BJP (Mumbai) president, read, “After failing to implement e-governance, BMC will spend Rs 10 cr on paper. An ecological & governance disaster #bmc.”

Movers & Shakers
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying to replicate its Delhi strategy in Mumbai. A group of 11 college students from Delhi have come to Mumbai as part of a Nukkad Natak group called ‘Sahi Santosh Yuva Kranti’, named after Santosh Koli, a rights activist and AAP leader who was set to contest from North-East Delhi’s Seemapuri constituency but succumbed to injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident in August last year. The group will be in Mumbai for 15 days. Whether their dance and drama will make voters in Mumbai swing toward the AAP as they did in Delhi remains to be seen.

MISSING IN ACTION
With polls round the corner, it is not election duty that is worrying senior civic officials but the high absenteeism rate among lower grade workers. Peons of various civic departments such as the roads and markets departments and conservancy workers of the solid waste management department either go on long leave or attend work half-heartedly as they rush to help local politicians campaign. “I have to go looking for files myself as many junior staffers have gone on leave,” a deputy municipal commissioner said.

On pause mode
Two important Additional Commissioner of Police-level posts in Mumbai are likely to remain vacant till the elections are over as the code of conduct forbids promotions of IPS officers. Sources said promotions were due for K M M Prasanna and Chhering Dorje, both Deputy Commissioners of Police. One of them was going to be posted as Additional CP (Crime) while the other was to be made Additional CP (East region) as soon as their promotions came through. However, the code of conduct came into effect a few days before their promotions could be announced. Prasanna has now been given temporary charge of the Crime Branch’s Special Task Force while Dorje continues to be DCP (Zone IX). At present, Additional CP (Economic Offences Wing) Rajvardhan Sinha and Additional CP (Traffic) Quaiser Khalid hold additional charge of the posts of Additional CP (Crime) and Additional CP (East region) respectively.

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