Unconventional candidates bite the dust in polls

Mumbai: They grabbed eyeballs during campaigning because they stood out due to a variety of reasons, but it wasn’t enough for them to become a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Barring the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) crorepati candidate Parag Shah, most candidates in the city poll fray who defied conventional norms failed to win the municipal elections.

Mr Shah had shot to fame after having declared assets worth Rs 690 crore while filing nomination for the polls. A real estate developer, Mr Shah was the richest candidate in the city. Despite being a novice in politics, he defeated Congress heavyweight Pravin Chheda from ward number 132 in Ghatkopar.

Priya Patil, a transgender, made history when she became the first transgender to contest the BMC elections. However, Ms Patil, who contested as an Independent, could poll only 70 votes from ward number 166 in Kurla West. Ms Patil said, “People believe that only political parties can carry out development works and hence they elect their candidates. But later they crib, saying politicians do nothing. There should be awareness among people about who should be their public representative.”

Unlike Ms Patil, MNS candidate Jayant Dandekar, the shortest candidate in the BMC polls, provided a stiff competition to Shiv Sena’s Upendra Sawant in ward 118 (Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli), losing only by 226 votes. The fact that Mr Dandekar just three feet tall, did not deter people from voting heavily for him.

Mukesh Singh, a former Black Cat commando, contested as an Independent from ward number 50 in Malad. After serving the country by being a part of the Indian Army and National Security Guard (NSG), the 35-year-old decided to enter politics.

However, he failed to beat BJP’s Deepak Thakur, son of minister of state for women and child development, Vidya Thakur.