After years of delay, the BMC elections have been declared. But will it really make any difference to Mumbaikars’ lives? Will our roads become better? Will our public transport improve? Will the quality
of our lives improve? The first BMC elections were held in 1968; 57 years later, has our city improved? Or has it deteriorated?
Power Struggles Over City-Building
Sadly, in Mumbai, the focus is on who can get into power. Who can rule and who can mismanage, with negligible focus on what can be done to make our city better.
Who Watches the Rulers After Elections?
That power corrupts is an age-old story. Theoretically, in a democratic system, one party rules (and is therefore most susceptible to corruption) and the other parties keep a watch to stop such corruption. But in Mumbai, after BMC elections, has anyone seen the ‘losing candidate’ or the ‘losing party’ keep a watch over anything? They simply hide themselves for years on end, and only surface again at the next election time to make a claim that they will make a difference if elected.
Life Without Elections: Did Anything Change?
Mumbai has been without elections for four long years. Has it really made a difference to our lives? Large parts of Mumbai are run by the MMRDA. Even larger parts of the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) are run by the MMRDA. The largest infrastructure projects in Mumbai are built by the MMRDA. And the MMRDA doesn’t have corporators. It doesn’t have elections. Yet it runs.
So, do elections really make a difference to Mumbai? Will the next elected body make a difference? Or will they only speed up the mismanagement of our city, in the name of making a difference?
Elections as a Tool to Divide Citizens
Realistically, elections only give an excuse to divide citizens. To make Mumbaikars fight amongst themselves over who will be good or bad for our city. To make Mumbaikars ignore everything else that is wrong with our city. To give an excuse for some to say, “If my preferred candidates had won, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” To give an excuse to others to say, “Imagine the mess we would be in if my preferred candidate had lost.”
Illusion of Change Versus Honest Governance
Mumbai’s BMC elections are all about imagination. An illusion fed to us that our city will become better. But good cities are not built on such illusions. They are built on honesty, on true grit, and determination to do some good. And, sadly, such qualities are always missing in the BMC House.
A Call for Citizens to Demand Better
So, for all the Mumbaikars out there hoping against hope that the next elections will be different, may we suggest that we not rely on what our politicians will do for us, but speak up and demand a better city irrespective of our political views and preferences.
Also Watch:
Mumbai’s good future does not lie in the hands of the next BMC House. It lies in our voice. So, my fellow Mumbaikars, speak up. Demand better roads. Demand better public transport. Demand better management. Demand a better Mumbai. After all, no politician is going to do this for us. Only we can, as a collective voice — a voice devoid of political preferences, a voice demanding only one thing: a better Mumbai.
By Zoru Bhathena - (The author is a noted non-political activist; the views expressed in this article are his own.)
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
