Confusion over consensus
Finally the tempo for the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trusteeship elections is picking up. Former BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala and publisher Maneck Davar state they "are contemplating contesting for BPP trusteeship." The Parsi Times (PT) of August 29, 2015 and the Jam-e-Jamshed (JJ) of August 30 carried advertisements from several candidates. One from chartered accountant Xerxes Dastur on "Why I am contesting the Punchayet elections" voiced his disapproval of any "move to bring about a ‘consensus’" panel of candidates, likening it to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party conspiring to join forces and raising "suspicions of a hidden agenda." Another from Lion Daara Bahadur Patel, terming himself "a leader par excellence who believes in service always in all ways" listed his achievements including those in the pharmaceutical industry. And one from caterer Tehmtan Dumasia describing himself as "a successful businessman having run his entrepreneurship on a range of activities."
More interestingly the front page of PT carried a headline "Consensus panel for BPP elections? Not true." The subsequent text qualified that talks of a panel "is not entirely true." Thereafter the publication, owned by community activist and industrialist Kersi Randeria who plays a key behind the scenes role in Parsi politics, clarified, those "who participated in the discussions have accepted the code of conduct and assured each other that these elections would not be acrimonious... An understanding has been reached to fight the elections on issues of governance."
Another front page item refers to a statement issued by Udvada high priest Dastur Khurshed Dastoor stating, "I am very concerned that in spite of my categorical denial my name is being bandied about as a candidate...some reputed community publications even had the temerity to include, without permission, my name in a list uploaded on their website... I am not interested in contesting." At a public function in April when Parsiana inquired whether he would contest, Dastoor indicated he did not want to get dragged in the mud of Parsi politics and carried more clout as a high priest. But stories of him possibly chairing the BPP should all the panel candidates get elected, kept circulating.
A JJ headline inquired, "Consensus panel — to be or not to be..." The weekly spoke to several trustees who, while denying the existence of such a team, welcomed any effort to lessen acrimony and arrive at some understanding. Attempts to forge an agreement among the major players are on the anvil.
Both weeklies carried a public notice issued by the BPP stating, "the election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of trustee Mr Muncherji Cama will not be held on October 18, 2015 as earlier notified" but after the Assistant Charity Commissioner (ACC) decides on the change report (hastily) filed by the majority of the BPP trustees. Four trustees, Arnavaz Mistry, Jimmy Mistry, Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai want to be rid of Cama. He is BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta’s staunchest ally in the beleaguered board. Cama’s purported resignation was being keenly contested by him and Mehta before the ACC. The withdrawal notice for his election indicates intense behind the scenes maneuvering.
Amongst the names being considered for the five-member panel are reportedly Yazdi Desai, Viraf Mehta, Zarir Bhathena, Dadrawala and Davar. Randeria’s name kept cropping up as a possible candidate but hasn’t featured of late. He was most vociferous in stating to Parsiana that neither he nor any of his nominees were part of any such panel. BPP trustee Armaity Tirandaz and Cama would complete the seven. Tirandaz had weighed stepping down with the intention of having her son Darius contest the vacancy, but this move did not find favor with the others. Tirandaz’s term expires in April 2016; Cama’s in July 2018.
Once the elections are over one can expect wrangling over who occupies the BPP chair. According to the BPP election scheme the senior most trustee becomes the chairperson, unless the six others object; in that case an election is held amongst the trustees. So far Desai is the only sitting trustee to publicly state he intends to re-contest. Jimmy is not contesting and Arnavaz and Mistree have not announced their candidature. If either of them do and win, they could also claim the chair. Dinshaw has completed his 21 years and will finish his third term this October. Whether he could stand again is open to legal scrutiny but as of now he is content to let his son Viraf stand; both Tirandaz and Cama are lower in seniority. Unless an understanding is reached, any reelected trustee who is denied the chair may carry a grudge against the rest. As it is there is no love lost between Arnavaz, Mistree and Desai on the one hand and Tirandaz, Cama, Bhathena, Davar, Dadrawala and Viraf on the other.
No one can predict all the twists and turns between now and October. As the late British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is said to have observed, a week is a long time in politics. Today with the Internet, emails, WhatsApp and the social media, even an hour can seem like eternity. That’s why what one reports in the morning may change by evening.
When once Parsiana had reported on our website that the former Ahmedabad based vice president of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India would not seek reelection to the post, we received a lot of flak at the West Zone B meet with Areez Khambatta supporters demanding to know whether we had checked with him before carrying the report. We explained that few candidates will answer that question truthfully and that many change their minds. People are cagey about committing. They are uncertain of the stakes involved, the prestige to be gained or lost. Reporting, therefore, becomes a tricky job.
When the legendary editor of The Washington Post Ben Bradlee was a reporter he once received a tip from US President Lyndon Johnson’s "top guy" that the President was looking for a successor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover who was a very potent force. Hoover had dossiers of unsavory material on all the top politicians and others in the country which he used to his advantage. Unseating him would invite his legendary wrath. Bradlee wrote about the proposed change in the Post. "Johnson called a press conference the day the report appeared and appointed Hoover head of the FBI for life," recalled Bradlee. When the meet was over, Johnson "turned to his top guy and… said, ‘Call Ben Bradlee and tell him f___ you.’ I took a lot of static for that — everyone said, ‘You did it Bradlee, you screwed up — you stuck us with Hoover forever.’ I screwed up but I wasn’t wrong."