Wooing voters

First they came seeking votes for themselves. Then they sought to target rivals. Many were the routes adopted by the 32 candidates to woo voters before and during the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trusteeship elections. Campaign meetings that started in baugs and colonies, progressed to theater halls and graduated to venues like Allbless Baug and Jeejeebhoy Dadabhoy Agiary, covering different areas of the city where Zoroastrians are known to reside.

To buttress the spoken word was needed the written word too. Initially came the single sheet flyers announcing prospective meet-the-candidate meets organized by the nascent Adult Franchise for Progress (AFP) and the rival World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ). The promise of light refreshments at the end of the evening prominently featured on such announcements.

To show their approachability, certain AFP candidates made their rounds of some colonies, even ringing doorbells to announce their candidature. This was followed by specially compiled 12-page booklets in English and Gujarati announcing the worthiness of their panel of seven candidates, carrying an explanatory note by the AFP founder Berjis Desai lest his liberal stance impede the chances of his candidates, and ending with some Frequently Asked Questions to dispel nagging doubts regarding their team’s commitment to community causes. A ditty to announce the numbers of their candidates was repeatedly blared on loudspeakers: "Chaar, baar, choud (Four, 12, 14), AFP is loud; others you can’t miss, sattar, adhaar, ognees, vees (17, 18, 19, 20).” The zip-lock plastic pouches bearing the numbers of the AFP-7 panel that were distributed to voters should prove a safe repository to preserve the BPP voter certificate until the next election.

WAPIZ did not barrage voters with a steady flow of printed election literature. But then they had their weekly WAPIZ Page in The Free Press Journal where they could proclaim the support of three High Priests, Dasturs (Drs) Kaikhus­roo JamaspAsa and Firoze Kotwal of ombay and Dastur Nadir­shah Unvalla of Bangalore, show the suitability of their candidates, and denigrate the AFP-7. They had a special dinner-dance at Joss to lure the youth. Their most successful election tool was the pen they distributed at the meets as also to all voters on the day of elections with the names of their four candidates inscribed thereon.

In his bold and flashy style Jimmy Mistry was the first to have a four-page publicity brochure with a striking color photograph of himself on the front page, followed by a listing of his personal accomplishments and those of the Parsi Resource Group that he has founded, and words of praise from leading community activists. Prominently positioned banners too at different Parsi colonies sustained voter interest in his efforts. His campaign meetings ended with dinner, neatly packed in boxes distributed at the end of the function. Invariably his meetings had an unparalleled turnout and he brought out a special colorful flyer showing photos of the audience at his 13 meets with the head count and date specified thereon. At his last extravaganza at the Dadar Parsi Colony on September 28, he succeeded in "igniting passion for the community” as demonstrated by the 5,000 attendees bearing candles in their hands. On election day in Andheri, October 12, voters were surprised to see Mistry’s eye-catching helium balloon hovering above the venue.

Left: A candidate’s volunteers offer refreshments; A plethora of promotional campaign literature flooded voters.

Veteran Dinshaw Mehta made up for the time lost in a delayed election campaign by holding meetings in quick succession, followed by prominently positioned banners and mailers sent to general and donor members carrying a brief of his activities, his accomplishments for the Punchayet, a letter signed by his supporters and reprints of articles in the Afternoon Despatch and Courier of September 19 where he was interviewed by Shernaaz Engineer and two in the Jam-e-Jamshed of May 27, 2001 when Berjis Desai, his principal detractor in the current elections, and his then co-trustees had supported him when he was contesting for a second term of office, and yet another in the Jamé of July 2, 2006 when all six BPP trustees unconditionally withdrew the allegations against each other following the resignation fiasco. On October 11, at Cusrow Baug, his upbeat supporters were seen distributing fortune cookies — the message within urging voters to vote for Dinshaw Mehta! Bête noire for the Jamé team, the weekly that has been consistently attacking him, asked in its issue of October 12 whether his raison d’etre for the third term was to enjoy "charity nu dhanshak and kaumni kachumber (a hearty repast for himself at the expense of community charity).” In fact they brought out a special issue on Wednesday, October 15 besides the regular weekend offerings to make one last ditch effort to dissuade voters from leaning towards him.

Surprisingly a front page report titled "Parsick politics” in the Mumbai Mirror of October 16, 2008 faulted candidate Arnavaz Mistry for smuggling "patients out of J. J. Hospital to vote for her” although she maintained that she had sought the necessary permission for the two patients, one of whom was her uncle.

The other independent candidates were not perceived as threats by the major players and hence were not targeted. Their finances being restricted, they tried in their limited way to introduce themselves and their work to the community by bringing out manifestos. But barring Phiroze Amroliwalla, Urvax Dhanda and Darayus Kabraji whose manifestos were printed in color, the others were all in black and white. Spelling errors, grammatical mistakes notwithstanding, it was clear that most sought to continue with traditions. Ervad Framroze Mirza was the only candidate to openly declare that dakhmas should be replaced by aramgah at the Doonger­wadi and outmarried males/females should have equal rights. The six-day election time-table was also accommodated on most manifestos, either for the convenience of voters or to fill the available space.

Candidates’ banners greet voters on the first day of polling at Khareghat Colony

The trend started by Arnavaz Mistry of going from door-to-door to garner support for her candidacy was towards the end adopted by some other candidates too who were keen to establish personal rapport.

The banners/posters/handbills of at least 20 candidates must have been conspicuously positioned at Godrej Baug. On the neighboring Doo­n­gerwadi land, along the pathway connecting Godrej Baug to the upper bunglis, the most visible ones were those of Arnavaz Mistry, Jimmy Mis­try, Rustom Tira­ndaz and Danesh Neja­dkay.

Advertising space was liberally booked in the community media by trustee hopefuls to get their message across. When one of the candidates unknowingly included the personal family crest of a respected family in his advertisement, he issued a public apology and there the matter appeared to rest. The otherwise irregular The Parsee Voice, edited by Adi Doctor, made special efforts to bring out two issues prior to the elections to announce its support for the WAPIZ team and Dinshaw Mehta, whilst criticizing the AFP panel and its founder as also Jimmy Mistry who has taken credit for renovating fire temples.

On the last few days most candidates were keen to announce their serial number against their name listed alphabetically on the ballot paper. At the entrance to each voting venue, the prospective voter was welcomed by a line-up of candidates and presented with a clutch of computer printed/xeroxed/rubber stamped/handwritten slips bearing the name and number of the candidates. But in a community that prides itself on its literacy and on a ballot paper where the names appeared not only in English but also in Gujarati, this seemed a futile exercise.

It is noteworthy that none of the independent candidates were intimidated by the bigger names and players and instead of withdrawing their nominations chose to retain their enthusiasm till the end. Or was it the community’s fighting spirit to the fore?